


Til' Death Do Us Part

by mystupidfanfics



Series: Til' Death Do Us Part [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure & Romance, Angst, Barry Allen - Freeform, Eventual Romance, F/M, Multi, Romance, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-03-21 14:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13743078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystupidfanfics/pseuds/mystupidfanfics
Summary: Chapter 1: Soon after Monica moves to Central City she becomes close friends with Barry Allen and Iris West. (Highlights from Middle School)Series: Monica Lucille Bell moved to Central City when she was 11 and quickly (and surprisingly) became good friends with Barry Allen. Each chapter is full of stories ranging from fluffy friendship (and eventually romance) to a ton of angst.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> FYI- I wrote this a while ago and was intending it to be a Barry Allen and Reader story, but I change it to Barry and Monica in Chapter 2 or 3.

Love has always been one of those things that has consumed all of my attention and energy. For as long as I can remember I've always 'liked' someone. Ranging from that stupid crush I had in the third grade to the boy I've liked for so long now. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with him. I mean how could you not love him? He is adorable, hilarious, super smart, and not to mention 6'1, with hypnotizing green orbs for eyes.

Barry Allen.

The name that has made my heart either flutter or skip a beat every time I hear it, since the tenth grade. You see, my life was very different before I met Barry. For the first eleven years of my life, my mother and I lived in National City. My mom worked as a journalist for Cat-Co while somehow still managing to raise me as a single parent. My life was great in National City; my classmates loved me, my teachers loved me, and during summer, I spent my days on the pier and my nights sitting by a bonfire making s'mores and staying up past midnight with my good friends; nothing was stopping me from living a perfect life. That was until, as my mom puts it, "Duty Called," and she just had to follow.

So that June, us two packed all of our stuff up and moved to Central City so that my mom could start her job at CCPN. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was on the brink of tears the whole trip there. Although I had the whole summer to settle into my new city and meet new friends, most of my first summer there was spent reading biology books I had checked out from the library.

The first day of school came sooner than I had expected, which caused me to only get about three hours of sleep the night before. Earlier that night, I had settled on wearing a plain blue top and jeans. I didn't feel like drawing too much attention to myself. Meeting new people has never been my thing.

Central City Junior High was only a ten-minute walk from my new house, but my mom, being the person that she is, insisted on driving me there on my first day. I don't really remember the five-minute car ride there, mainly because I was lost in my own thoughts 99% of the time. The other 1% was spent twiddling my fingers or bobbing my knee up and down at lightning speed.

Once my mom finally pulled up to my new school, I quickly pecked her cheek goodbye and started my long journey to first period. It was weird being an "Outsider." I finally experienced what it was like to be ignored, or bumped int-

"Shit," I mumbled under my breath as all of my new journals fell to the floor (along with an unhealthy amount of colorful gel pens). All I could hear was the evil snickering of a few students behind me as I dropped to the floor with teary eyes to pick up the mess that was just made. I swiftly grabbed a handful of pens before a set of hands appeared on one of the journals. I followed the new set of hands with my y/e/c eyes, up their arms to the face that owned them. Suddenly they were met with two green eyes staring right back into mine.

"Don't worry about them, they always pick on their prey. I mean not that you're at a lower rank than them, but you were alone and-" His rambling was instantly cut off by a voice above the two of you.

"Come on Barry, if I'm late to first period Dad's gonna kill me."

As soon as all of my things were back in a neat pile the stranger in front of me stood up and apologized to the voice that just spoke. I slowly began to stand back upright when the two of them started strolling down the halls.

"I-I'm sorry for what happened to you... whatever your name is. Wait, I don't know your name. What's your-" I couldn't help but smile at his rambling.

"Barry Allen, I swear, if you don't start picking up your feet I will drag you through these hallways for the rest of your life if I have to." And with that, the two strangers, the green-eyed boy, and dark-skinned girl were out of sight.

As I walked into my first period class you kept I head down low, avoiding any attention. I hastily took the last seat available (a seat in the dreaded front row) and gently placed my backpack on the back of my chair. Chatter could be heard throughout the classroom until- BIIIING- the bell went off and everyone suddenly fell silent.

"Hello class, I'm Ms. Martin and I will be your science teacher this year. Now before I start my class, I'll be taking attendance, so please just say 'HERE' loud and clear when I call your name." Ms. Martin went through about eight names, and I zoned out until a name caught my attention.

"Bartholomew Allen." A hand shot up at the desk to my right.

"Here ma'am, and I go by Barry- Barry Allen." I heard a few giggles in the back of the classroom as Barry slowly put his hand down.

"Well, okay then, Mr. Barry Allen." The teacher checked off yet another name on her list. "Next would be, y/f/n."

It felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. My lungs began to burn and my heart was running 100 miles a minute. Slowly, I raised my hand only reaching the point where the tip of my middle finger reached the top of my y/h/c dressed head. Unfortunately, even though I was in the front row where the teacher could easily see me, she still stared me down until I meekly uddered out a 'Here'. Suddenly all of the tension in my body was released and I was finally able to breathe again.

That was until I felt a finger gently poke my shoulder.

I turned my head towards the source of the finger. The stranger held out his hand until I nervously took his hand into mine and shook it, looking into his face.

"H-hi I'm Barry-" he whispered.

"You do know she just said your name like fifteen seconds ago, right Barry?" I questioned, rolling my y/e/c eyes.

"Well, I just wanted to 'formally' introduce myself, y/n."

And that's how it all began. Little did I know that day was the start of my long adventure with Barry Allen.

After that day, Barry and I slowly grew closer and closer together. About a month into the school year the two of us were inseparable. Barry and I would spend as much time as possible together. Whenever the two of us were around it was impossible not to hear laughter.

Of course, Iris and I were also good friends. After awhile Barry had told me about his mother's death and how after his dad went to prison he had to move in with Iris and her dad, Detective Joe West. The Wests always welcomed me with open arms, and soon my mom and I began celebrating birthdays, Christmas, and Thanksgiving with them. One of my favorite memories with Barry is actually the first Christmas the two of us spent together...

Central City was colder than usual that year, and the weather forecasters were predicting a 75% chance of snow on Christmas Day. My mom and I decided to stay the night at the West's' house, seeing that it would be too cold to walk home and there was bound to be a dangerous amount of ice on the roads that night. All five of us had decided to spend our night by watching a few Christmas movies while drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies. I've never been too keen on nostalgic or cliche traditions, except for this one. That night was full of laughter, smiles, and hundreds of happy memories.

One being the frosting incident.

After dinner that night, Iris, Barry, and I crowded into the small kitchen to decorate gingerbread cookies. The house was filled with the warm scent of cinnamon and sugar, and Christmas music from the local radio station played faintly in the background.

"Well, I'm pretty sure my cookies are going to be the best," boasted Barry, standing in front of his work of art with his hands on his hips in triumph.

"And how do you know that, Barry?" Iris challenged him, carefully piping a snowflake made of white icing onto a golden brown cookie.

"I've got mad frosting skills, Iris, that's why."

I just stood there, listening to their conversation as I covered my cookie in little white dots of sugary frosting. Until I came up with a mischievous idea. Interrupting the debate going on between Barry and Iris, I gently tapped Iris on the shoulder and quietly whispered something inaudible about Barry in her ear. A smile slowly crept onto her face as she nodded her head.

"What are you talking about, y/n? Anything important?" Barry interrogated me, taking two steps closer.

"Oh nothing," I said with a bag of frosting in my hand.

"Just that... I've got mad frosting skills too..." I screamed as I began to squeeze icing all over Barry's face. Behind me, Iris was dying of laughter before Barry's facial expressions went from shock to pure rage.

"Oh y/n," he breathed, taking a step forward with his hands behind his back. "Two can play this game."

Instantaneously, he took a bag of frosting into his hands, haphazardly squeezing all of its contents like a water gun, hitting both me and Iris. The laughter and screaming coming from the three of us was so loud we didn't hear the footsteps hurriedly walking towards the kitchen.

"Guys... What's going on in-?" A huge glob of frosting was flung into Joe's face and once all of us realized what had just happened, the whole house fell quiet.

"J-Joe...I-I can explain," stammered Barry. Joe wiped the frosting off his face and onto the now filthy floor.

"There's no need to explain Barry. Just make sure all of this is cleaned up in thirty minutes." As Joe began to turn around, I couldn't help but point it out.

"Oh...um... Mr. West?" Joe stared into my face.

"Yes, y/n?"

I pointed to his face "Y-you.... you've got a little frosting in your eyebrow." Barry started to giggle as Joe slowly turned away, wiping the frosting from his eyebrow with his index finger.

The next morning I was woken up by someone shaking me back and forth

"Y/n...y/n."

I slowly rolled over and swatted Barry's arm away.

"What do you want, Bartholomew?" I asked, followed by a long yawn.

"First of all, you know I go by Barry. Second of all, you've got to go outside!" he exclaimed, grabbing onto my forearm and pulling me off of the sofa. I was half asleep, so I allowed him to continue dragging me to the front door until a cold blast of air sent shivers down my spine. I finally opened my eyes the rest of the way to find an enchanting white blanket of snow covering the neighborhood.

Briskly, Barry let go of my arm and awkwardly ran over to the snow. His face was beaming with joy and I couldn't help but join him in his sappy bliss. Instantly I ran over to him and both of us dropped to the floor, moving our arms and legs, attempting to make snow angels. For a while, the two of us just stayed there giggling and staring at the cloudy sky above.

"Y/n?" I flopped my head to the side to meet Barry's green eyes.

"Yes, Barry?" I answered.

"Will you please pinch me-?"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on Barry, you of all people should no that doesn't-"

"Y/n, just shut up and pinch me!" he yelled. Quickly, I sat up and took his plump little cheeks in between my thumbs and index fingers, pinching them as hard as I possibly could. Barry squealed and I fell back down into my original position as my body shook with laughter.

"Merry Christmas, y/n..." he whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Barry," I said with a huge smile on my face.


	2. Til' Death Do Us Part- Chapter 2: Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monica experiences her first romance and heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI- Monica is supposed to be played by Melissa Benoist.

After meeting Barry and Iris, school became something that I'd look forward to. Grades six through eight flew by, and before we knew it, we were freshmen at Central City High. By then Barry had already confessed his feelings for Iris to me, which at the time, wasn't that big of a deal to me. I told Barry about Josh Sinclaire, whom I had noticed was taking interest in me.

"Any luck with Iris?" I asked Barry, with my hands grabbing onto the backpack straps placed on my chest, as the two of us walked home after school. Barry turned his head to look at me and slowly nodded his head no.

"Mon, I've tried everything I can think of how to subtly hint at the fact that I like her, but she always just seems so....so..."

"Oblivious," I stated, finishing his sentence for him. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Exactly... What about you?" I cocked my head to the side in confusion until he explained his question. "You and Josh, what's happening there?" A huge cocky smiled stretched across my face causing the skin around my blue eyes to crinkle up.

"Oh, he SOOO wants me," I chuckled as Barry stared at me, his smile growing.

"And how are you so sure of that?" he challenged, as the smile on my face faded away.

"Because number one: who wouldn't want me? And number two: whenever we're together he acts the exact same way you do when you're with Iris," I said, singing the last part so that the whole street could hear. At that point, I was already a few paces ahead of Barry, so I swiftly turned around giggling at the sight of him. His cheeks were flushed and he was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt until-

"Oh, you're going to wish you never said that," Barry whispered, calmly taking a few steps toward me.

"Barry... Barry, please don't... Bare I-I'm sor-"

Suddenly I was unable to form words as Barry tickled me making me snort and giggle, finally stopping when I kicked him in the shin, earning a squeal from him.

"Oh Barry Allen, when will you ever learn I have ways of 'torturing' people too?" I mocked him, hands on my hips as he fell to the ground, pretending to hold his leg in pain. I held out my hand and pulled Barry off the cold concrete before we started walking again, unaware that we were only a block from-

"Crestdale..." Barry and I muttered in unison, grins creeping on to our slightly red faces.

"On your marks..." Barry murmured getting into a runners lunge.

"Get set..." I giggled, doing the same.

"Go!" Quickly, Barry and I ran next to each other, determination dressing our faces as we both tried to beat the other. Out of nowhere, a wave of energy coursed through my veins and I began to sprint as fast as I possibly could. Finally reaching the lime green lawn of my home, I fell to the ground, my chest rapidly rising and falling. Barry casually jogged up the driveway as I began to sit up.

"I win, again, thank god I wore tennis shoes today," I chuckled, looking up at Barry.

"That's a good color on you," he whispered gasping for air.

"Thanks, Bare." I began to stand up. "That tomato-red shade really compliments your eye color," I teased patting his right cheek with one of my hands. He responded by lightly punching me in the arm.

"Wanna stay for dinner?" I asked him, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "I can help you with Bio as long as you help me with geometry," I said, trying to make the offer look more appealing. Barry smiled, a small chuckle coming out of his mouth.

"As much as you need my help with geometry, I should probably say no. Joe won't be home until later tonight and Iris still doesn't feel comfortable home alone." I looked at Barry trying my best to mask my disappointment.

"Go take care of Iris, Bare... I'll see you tomorrow!" I called out as Barry started walking towards the street. He haltingly turned around and waved goodbye, and with that, I walked into my home to the smell of fresh baked cookies.

"Was that Barry?" my mom asked me as I walked into the kitchen, placing my backpack on the table.

"Yeah..."

"Well, why didn't you invite him in? You two sounded like you were having fun. I could hear you guys from down the street." My cheeks grew red knowing that my mom knew about my childish behaviour.

"He um... he had to go home. Joe won't be home until later tonight and you know how Iris is about being home alone."

"I see..." my mom spoke, setting down her dish towel and walking over to me. "You know you can always talk about boys with me, right?" The color of my cheeks matched the one that was on Barry's earlier as my eyes grew wide.

"MOM!..." I whined, grabbing a cookie. "I don't have any feelings for Barry except for those of friendship," I said taking a bite out of the cookie, the melted chocolate chips warming up my throat. "And besides," I retorted pointing the cookie at my mom, "Barry likes Iris and there's..." I stopped in my tracks realizing how stupid my comment was.

"There's what? What is there Monica?!"

I rolled my eyes. "See, this is why I don't talk to you about these things," I mumbled looking down at the floor.

"Just answer my question," she said, an eager smile formed on her face as she thought of her only daughter falling in love for the first time.

"There's this other guy, Josh. Josh Sinclaire." I paused thinking about Josh, his perfect smile, his ocean blue eyes. "He just- I don't know, mom. He always acts like he wants to get my attention, but then he never talks to me. God, the crazy things I'd do to make him mine." I said making sure to whisper the last part.

"Awww, my little baby's all grown up and in love," my mom sighed, a goofy grin spread across her face.

"Shut up," I grumbled kicking her foot underneath the table. We sat in a comfortable silence until she broke it asking the one question I was hoping she never would've thought of.

"Can I meet him sometime?" My heart started racing, my palms began to get clammy.

"You know what, I have a test to study for so... I'll be in my room." I swiftly got up running up the stairs to my room.

"You forgot your backpack!" my mom chuckled.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, I threw on a dress and some flats, and hastily tied my hair up into a bun. Grabbing my homework and a blueberry muffin, I kissed my mom on the cheek and began my short walk to school. Finally reaching my locker, I entered the combination and opened it. A folded up piece of paper gradually floating down to the marble floors. I crouched down to pick the paper up, reading the writing on the front:

Monica: OPEN ASAP

Eagerly, I unfolded the note, my eyes landing on the message:

Meet me in the Library, in aisle J.

At first, confused by the note, I thought of all of the people that could've written it. Of course, my first "suspect" was Barry, but he could've just called me earlier. And that definitely wasn't Iris' handwriting. But instead of becoming Nancy Drew for the next ten minutes, I decided to simply follow the directions on the lined sheet.

Grabbing onto the handle of the library door, I calmly opened it, stepping into the ghost town and strolling over to aisle J, my eyes glued to the letter in my hand. Bumping into someone once, I reached the aisle. I shot my head up in surprise.

"Josh..." I murmured at the figure in front of me, my cheeks turning a beautiful shade of crimson.

"Monica!" he exclaimed, taking a step back.

"What- why- was this you?" I eventually asked, holding up the letter.

"Yes and please, before you jump to conclusions, just, let me explain." I nodded my head, staring into his eyes. "Monica, ever since last year I've realised just how much of a great person you are, and how gorgeous you are. And I was just thinking, with the winter formal in a week..." He looked up at me, not finishing his sentence. We stood there for a few moments, in complete silence. I took a few steps forward and wrapped my arms around him.

"Yes Josh, I'd be more than happy to. Maybe even ecstatic."

In that moment, I never wanted to let go of Josh. I wanted to stay there with him, content, smiling, learning what it was like to love. And for a long time, I would've killed to live that life forever. A life where I, a dumb and hopeful teen, fell for the first boy she laid her eyes on.

That afternoon at lunch I told Barry and Iris about that morning. And of course Iris, being the girl she is, squealed in delight, insisting that we needed to go dress shopping that afternoon.

"We can have like, a double-date. You, me, Josh, and Liam!" she squealed, grabbing my hands. I looked to my right, rolling my eyes at Barry.

"So Bare, who are you going with?" I asked trying shift the attention from me to him.

"Oh, um, I, um, I'm not actually going..." he sighed, looking at the sticky ground of the cafeteria. Iris finally lets go of my hands and glared at Barry.

"What?! Barry, you HAVE to go!" she shouted while startling Barry and I. "I-it's just, I don't h-" Barry's voice was masked by another.

"-Mind if I sit?"

I looked over my shoulder beaming.

"Josh, of course not," I said, patting the seat to my left. Right as he sat down, Iris began to bombard him with millions of stupid questions.

"So you and Monica, huh? What's your favorite thing about her? What are your thoughts on blue dresses? How about satin? Oh, why would you care?" she said, causing Josh to raise his eyebrows.

One week later I sat in my room, curling my golden hair and applying a final coat of lipstick, looking at my reflection in the mirror with delight. Gently, I stood up and slipped on my heels, then walked over to the tall mirror in my bathroom. Staring into it, I twirled around, giggling as the satin fabric of the high-low skirt flowing around my legs. My body wrapped in a light-silvery blue satin, showing off my shoulders and collarbone. I continued to look in the mirror until I heard a knock at my door. I whirled around, grinning at the boy in front of me.

"Barry, you decided to come after all. Nice suit," I said, walking over to him.

"Same to you. Well, not the suit part... Why would you wear a suit? ...I mean if you want to, go ahead but... I guess what I'm trying to say is, you look nice too," he finished rambling, scratching the back of his neck and looking down at the grey carpet. I let out a slight giggle, causing my curls to bounce up and down. "Shall we?" Barry asked, holding his hand out for me.

"We shall," I whispered lightly, placing my hand in his and biting my tongue to stifle the laugh that was trying to burst out of my red painted lips.

"So," I commented as we began walking down the stairs, "Who's your "date"?" I questioned by emphasizing the last word with air quotes made by my free hand.

"Well, actually..."

In the blink of an eye, I turned to face him, my hand slipping out of his.

"Barry, please don't tell me you're going alone!" I shouted, staring into his green eyes.

"Well actually-"

Unfortunately for me - but fortunately for Barry - my mom interrupted him.

"Is that Barry I hear my daughter shouting at?" she asked, pulling Barry into a big hug. "Was she scaring you?" she asked jokingly.

"I don't, I may have to start thinking about filing a restraining order." Barry chuckles as I slapped his arm.

My mom smirked. "Well, you two have fun and sweetheart remember-"

I rolled my eyes. "No alcohol, no drugs, no sex," I mumbled, noticing Barry trying his best to hide his big goofy smile.

"Yeah Monica, no alcohol. No drugs. No. Sex," he quipped, glancing at me.

"See what you've done, mom? You've created a monster!" I exclaimed, flailing my arms around.

(Un)Fortunately, that night was full of everything but alcohol, drugs, and sex. It was still one of the best nights of my life. All of five us danced the night away, forgetting about all of those terrible struggles that came with finally having to learn to grow up.

For the next five months, Josh and I were one of the happiest couples at Central City High. We soaked up as much of that sappy teen romance as we could. Spending weekends together, Josh not so secretly sneaking into my room late some nights. Soon, he had become good friends with Barry and Iris, and he joined us on our walks home. My fingers always laced with his, our arms swinging to and fro as I leaned into his shoulder. Iris always commenting, "Could you guys just stop being adorable for like, five seconds?" Which always seemed to cause all four of us to laugh. But, aside from the hand holding and occasional kisses on the cheek, my relationship with Josh felt exactly like my friendship with Barry. And as funny as it seems, I had wasted those five months.

It was the last Monday of the school year and Josh had asked me if we could walk home alone together. Of course, being the desperate young teen I was, I complied. That afternoon, we walked hand in hand in an almost comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Monica," Josh mumbled, looking down at me.

"Yeah?" I asked staring up at his eyes.

"I don't think this is going to work out."

Forcefully I stopped walking, digging my heels into the asphalt.

"What do you mean, 'this'?"

Using his free hand Josh pointed between the two of us. "You and I..."

In that moment, my heart dropped to my feet. My head began to ache from all of the shock and confusion. Aggressively, I pulled my hand out of his, sticking it in the pocket of my sweatshirt.

"Look, I get that you're angry. It's just that, there's this girl and she- And I mean, you don't even look at me the same way you look at B-"

Not even thinking, I felt my hand smack against his cheek, making it swell.

"What the hell, Josh! How long?"

"Huh?" he murmured, still in shock and shaking his head.

"How long have you liked her? Because I sure as hell hope I didn't waste five months on you!" I bawled, my eyes beginning to overflow with tears. Not even waiting for an answer, I began to run down the street, trying my best to escape the nightmare I just experienced.

"Mon! Please! Wait! Let me explain!" he shouted. Gracefully, I came to a stop, pivoting to face him, while carefully planning my response. Right when he started walking towards me I gave him the finger, as salty water droplets stained my flushed cheeks. Turning back around, I started sprinting again, finally reaching the one place I needed to be.

Monica: Barry?

Bare: What's up? Aren't you supposed to be walking home with Josh?

Monica: How long will it take you to get to Crestdale?

Bare: I'll be there in five.

I turned off my phone and set it on the cool concrete. Tears were streaming down my face as I buried it into my hands sobbing, soaking the sleeves of my sweatshirt. I cried and cried until-

"Mon? Monica?"

Finally, I looked up. A blurry figure above me was shaking my shoulder.

"What happ- who did-... Why are you crying?"

I sniffled, rubbing my bloodshot eyes to try and clear up my vision as Barry sat down beside me. Taking a deep breath I began.

"Josh, he-he-" I cut myself off, sobbing and leaning my head on Barry's shoulder as he gently rubbed my back.

"Shhh, you don't have to say anything. Do you want me to walk you home?"

I sniffed, nodding my head, unwillingly getting up after Barry did, leaning into him as we walked to my house.

Once we reached the front porch, I handed Barry my key and he unlocked the light grey door, letting me enter first. Lazily, I trudged up the mahogany stairs that led to the second floor, Barry behind me holding my backpack. Once I pushed the door to my blue room open, I forcefully kicked off my shoes and plopped onto the cushioned window seat on the opposite side of my room. Barry quietly closed the door before grabbing a box of tissues and gently sat across from me.

"You know, rumor has it tissues clean up tears better than sleeves," he whispered solemnly, looking at my folded up figure. Gently, I lifted my head up letting out one light chuckle.

"I hate him, Barry. He's such a- such a-" Suddenly, all of my sadness disappeared-

I picked up a pillow-

And it was replaced by-

And threw it, hitting a picture of him-

Anger.

"Jerk!" Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Barry flinched.

"I'm sorry Bare, I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. You shouldn't have to be here and-"

"Hey. Listen, we both know the last thing you need right now is to be alone." I stared into his green eyes, finding comfort in them. I curled up and rested my head on his shoulder.

"He said he thought him and I wouldn't work. He said there was this girl and that I didn't look at him the same way I look at someone and-" I felt Barry shift his body to look at me.

"Someone? Who was he talking about?"

I lifted my hand up. "I don't even know, I never let him finish I was just to- to-" Then another loud cry spat out of my mouth. My tears that were supposed to be soaking up tissues were now being absorbed by Barry's sleeve.

"Hey. Monica. Hey. Please look at me." I looked up, tears still falling down my flushed cheeks. "Josh, he never deserved you. Ok? He'll never deserve anyone." He turned around completely forcing me to sit up on my own. He took my hands in his. "But you- you deserve the world."

I forcefully wrapped my arms around him, resting my chin on his shoulder. It took a while before one of Barry's arms was wrapped around my waist, the other one brushing my hair. Calmly, he rocked me back and forth, like a mother cradles her newborn baby.

"Oh, Barry," I stuttered. "Could you be any more cliche?" I stated with a grin growing on my damp face. I felt his cheeks rise as he smiled.

"There's the Monica I know and love," he chuckled as I reluctantly pulled myself out of his embrace.

"Movie marathon?" I questioned, crossing my arms.

"I'll get the popcorn, you'll pick the first feature?" he asked, pushing himself up. I shook my head, before lazily getting up walking to my vanity.

"But first-" I ripped Josh's picture of the edge of my mirror and tore it into pieces. Letting them all fall into the trash. Barry stared at me, laughing.

"What?" I asked, turning to face him.

"Oh Monica, could you be any more cliche?" he retorted, earning him a light punch in the shoulder.

Boy, do I love cliches...


	3. Til' Death Do Us Part- Chapter 3: Bittersweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In chapter 3 troubled waters start to brew, setting up Barry and Monica's future.

Chapter 3: Bittersweet 

I’d be lying if I said my breakup with Josh didn’t hit me hard. Even though it was a stupid six-month relationship that, in the end, was pointless. After a weekend full of movie marathons with Barry and Iris, I was ready to face the world.  
A word of advice to anyone who’s either just starting High School or will be starting soon: Don’t sweat the small stuff.  
I know, I know. Everyone tells you that, but trust me, spending time with your friends and soaking up your last few years of childhood is so worth it. Take road trips, go to parties, pull all-nighters for no apparent reason. That’s how I lived my four years in High School and look at me now! I’m a twenty-five-year-old biologist who’s thriving. But that’s beside the point right now. High School is what I should be talking about.  
Senior year.  
College applications.  
Prom.  
Graduation.  
Barry still trying to find a way to get with the girl he loves. Iris still being an oblivious social butterfly trying to run the school’s newspaper. And me still trying to find a way to get into the college I so ‘desperately’ needed to get into.  
“Which sounds better-” I began pressing the cap of my pen onto my bottom lip, “‘I’d be so grateful to join your program’ or ‘I cannot wait to begin my studies at Stanford’?”  
I spun around in my chair to look at Iris, who was sitting on my light grey carpet and Barry, who was staring out my bedroom window.  
“Hmmm... the second one,” Iris answered, looking up at me showing off her bright and shiny teeth.  
“Barry?” I inquired and quickly he spun around.  
“Are you sure the second one doesn’t sound a little too-”  
“Headstrong. Yeah, I see what you mean,” I said, finishing his thought for him.  
“But people do love a powerful young woman,” Iris sang, the last three words spilling out of her mouth like sweet maple syrup. As I turned back to my paper, Barry shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and walked up to me. Leaning over my shoulder once he finally reached me.  
“How ‘bout ‘I would be so honored to complete my studies at Stanford.’ That way you’re complimenting them and being a ‘Powerful Young Woman,’” he recommended, earning a smile from me-  
“Thanks, Bare.”  
-and a pat on the cheek.  
“Anyways...” Iris started, “What are you two doing for prom? Because it’s only one week away and we still have no plans.” Swiftly I spun in my chair, furrowing my eyebrows.  
“I thought you were going with Adam.” She rolled her eyes.  
“I said WE have no plans. Not ME. Come on, you guys can’t miss out.” After that sentence, Barry let out a sigh.  
“Barry, I’d hate to admit it, but she’s kinda got a point,” I whispered loudly. Rolling his eyes, Barry finally came up with a response.  
“So, you just want us to go with you and Adam? Be a third and fourth wheel?”  
Iris glanced between Barry and I raising her eyebrows.  
“No!” I exclaimed almost a little too quickly.  
“No, what?” Barry questioned.   
“Yeah Monica, no what?”  
I glared at Iris, hopefully signaling for her to stop. “No to being a third and fourth wheel. Iris?”  
Iris rolled her eyes playfully. “Yes, I’ll set you two up with someone. I have a lot of people in mind,” she said glaring back at me. Instinctively, I kicked Iris in the shoulder, pushing her to the floor.  
“Ow.” She grabbed said shoulder. “What was that for?”  
I laughed. “Oh, you know what that was for.” Barry turned to face me.  
“Well, I don’t understand. Care to explain?” Barry played.  
“Girl stuff, Barry. You wouldn't understand,” I teased pushing his nose in with my finger.  
“I’ve been best friends with two girls for the past seven years. I think I understand girl stuff now,” he retorted.  
“Sure… Bartholomew,” I whispered making his eyebrows furrow in frustration before he let out a chuckle.  
“And they say I’m the oblivious one,” Iris mumbled just loud enough for me to hear, but I chose to ignore it.  
Later that night, Iris claimed she had to get a full nine hours of sleep, so after about an hour she walked back to her home, leaving Barry and me alone.  
“Lucille?”  
I rolled my eyes, turning to face Barry. “Yes, Bartholomew?” A smile spread across my face as Barry glared at me.  
“This was meant to be a serious conversation,” he mumbled.  
“Well, you’re the one who used my middle name but continue,” I retorted.  
“Well, in all seriousness, if Iris is unsuccessful in her matchmaking, I- um- I-” I stared into his green eyes, confused and scared about what would come out of his mouth next. “I wouldn’t mind taking you to- umm- prom?” A smile began to stretch across my face.  
“Is that a question or a statement?” I asked, biting my pink lips to stifle a giggle.  
“A statement… I think?” I couldn't contain my laughter much longer.  
“Well, if we’re saying that it’s a statement, then we have a deal,” I said grinning, earning a smirk from Barry.  
“Well, as long as you don’t look at me like that.” I chuckled and pointed at Barry’s now tomato red face.  
“Like what?” he said, trying to act like an idiot but terribly failing.  
“The ‘Woah, I’m the luckiest boy there is’ look,” I whispered, “It makes you look like a character in a cheesy teen romance.”  
“Oh, you mean the look boys always have in all those stupid movies you watch,” he retorted.  
“Hey! You watch them with me sometimes!” I yelled.  
“Mhmm, sure.”

 

As Barry had predicted, Iris miserably failed at her matchmaking task, forcing Barry and me to be each other's “dates” to the senior prom. In a way, I was kind of suspicious of Iris’ actions. I mean she’s been pretty good at picking dates for us in the past, but this time she sucked ass. Barry was given the choice of Stupid Sarah and I was given the choice of Douchey Daniel.  
Okay, so maybe that’s not the nicest way to describe them, but it is the cold hard truth.  
But besides Iris’ horrid selections she was just acting weird the month leading up to prom. Whenever the three of us were together she was constantly mumbling and saying things under her breath, then playing them off as “Nothing…” Then there was the time we went dress shopping, all Iris could talk about was Barry and I.  
“I know you guys are going as friends but...”  
I rolled my eyes, cutting her off. “No Iris, Barry and I will never be anything more than friends. Okay?” And as I had predicted she mumbled something under her breath. “What?” I questioned.  
“Oh nothing, just- nothing.” I stared at her in thought for a few seconds.  
“You know I’m starting to think you’re going crazy.” Iris swiftly turned to face me.  
“I’m the one that’s going crazy?!” she exclaimed.  
“No Monica, you’ve always been the crazy one.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“It means the past seven or eight years you’ve been calling me the oblivious one when really it’s you.”  
My whole body froze, my eyes becoming the size of saucers, my mouth wide open. I must have been standing unconscious for awhile since Iris was behind me tapping my shoulder. I swiveled around.  
“Hey look at this dress, it’s red. Barry’s favorite color.” I snatched the hanger from her hands.  
“I’m not oblivious, Iris,” I mumbled, storming off into the dressing rooms. I stared into the mirror, my face was a pale pink shade, my eyes slightly damp with tears. I looked at the dress for the first time, it was made of a deep shade of red satin, with sleeves that were made to fall off the shoulders. The skirt was long and slightly ruffled, I stared at it for a minute or two before deciding to try it on. I turned around and stepped into it, the slick material clinging to every curve of my body. Successfully zipping it up, I heard a knock on the door.  
“Monica?” I opened the door, much to Iris’ surprise.  
“Oh, Monica! It looks so good on you!” she squealed.  
“I don’t know…”  
“Have you even looked at yourself, yet?” I slowly shook my head. She grabbed my shoulders turning me towards the mirror. My cheeks started to match the color of my dress, what can I say? Red suits me, not as much as blue, but it still looks great on me.  
“I’m trimming this skirt,” I giggled.  
“That’s the spirit,” Iris said, smiling at me over my shoulder.

 

A few weeks later, I was sitting in front of my vanity, applying a coat of red lipstick to match my now trimmed dress. I looked at myself and smiled. My golden hair in loose curls, silver heels adorning my feet... Everything was perfect.  
Then, the doorbell rang.  
I jumped up and stood in the middle of my room, waiting for a knock at my bedroom door. My mom’s voice rang through the house and the sound of footsteps began to get louder and louder. Then came the knock. I turned around to face the young man in front of me wearing a grey suit and red tie, hair gelled up and a smile on his face.  
“Barry!” I shouted, walking up to him giving him a tight squeeze. “Nice suit,” I whispered, a grin spreading across my face.  
“Same to you, well, not the suit part.” He chuckled, making my eyes crinkle up. “Shall we?”  
“We shall,” I whispered, hooking arms with him and walking out my bedroom door.  
“You know, I’m feeling a bit of deja vu,” Barry joked.  
“Really, I wonder why?” I giggled, turning to face him when we reached the bottom of the stairs.  
“Well, you two know the rules,” my mom said, looking between the two of us.  
“No alcohol, no drugs, no sex,” Barry and I said in unison.  
“Well, lucky for you,” my mom said pointing at me, “The only one that applies tonight is no drugs,” she whispered, winking at me.  
“Mom!” I shouted glaring at her, a light blush growing on my cheeks.  
“Have fun!” she sang as we walked out the front door.  
Music from the school gym could be heard from blocks away, heightening my excitement. Once Barry and I reached the gym we were greeted by a room full of teenagers dancing in blue and purple lights. I looked at him in question and all he did was shrug his shoulders, so we stepped through the doors to the gym. And that’s when the whirlwind of a night started.  
Barry and I immediately ran into Iris and her date. We danced and talked for awhile until the conversation got a little bit awkward.  
“So Barry, Monica, what do you guys have planned for after the dance?” Iris suggestively asked.  
“Well, we were actually planning on going to Jess’ afterpar-”  
“Yeah, yeah cut the crap. What do you guys really have planned?” Iris questioned, wiggling her eyebrows. I glared at her and boy did I want to kick her in the shin. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Barry. Trust me, he was a really great friend. But back then, that’s all he was. A really great friend.  
“Monica?” Barry’s concerned voice snapped me out of my train of thought. “Are you-”  
I spun around, walking as fast as I could.  
“I’ll be right back,” I yelled as I walked out of the gym leaving that awkward situation behind me. Gently, I sat down on a cold metal bench in the school courtyard and started fidgeting with my clammy palms. Tears were threatening to pour out of my eyes, a huge lump in my throat was growing larger and larger. My heart was racing a hundred miles a minute and my stomach felt like it was dropping all the way down to hell.  
“Not now, not now, not now,” I whispered to myself. “Not now, not now, not now, not now, not n-”  
“MONICA!” Barry’s yell made me jump. “Shit, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to- you look like you’re about to cry. What happened? Are you o-”  
“No Barry! I’m not okay! I haven’t been in a long time, and I don’t think I ever will be.” I quipped.  
“Wh-what do you mean?” he whispered, sitting next to me rubbing my back. I stared at the floor, wondering whether or not I was about to make the right decision. I sniffled  
“Barry, I’m not weak okay?” I said, seeing him nod out of the corner of my eye. “I’ve been having attacks...” He cocked his head to the side as I turned to face him. “Anxiety attacks, I just- I get so bothered and angry and I bottle up all of my emotions, and I panic and freak out, and I don’t know what to do anymore,” I sobbed. “I don’t know what to do…” I whispered looking into his eyes.  
“Monica… I’m… How long has this been going on for?” he asked, sympathy showing in his facial expressions.  
“Since eighth grade and I haven’t told anybody. I just- I don’t want to be seen as a defenseless damsel in distress Barry…” I turned my head back to the floor.  
“Hey, look at me,” he whispered, gently pushing my chin towards him. “You are anything but a damsel in distress. Hell, you’re a badass. A super smart, strong, and beautiful badass. I just wish you would have told someone. Your mom. Iris. Me.”  
We stared into each other's eyes for a while, the world around us disappearing. In our minds, all that existed was the two of us and our feelings. Suddenly, I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me in for a hug. I rested my head in the crook of his neck, three or four small tears dripping off my cheeks.  
“Thanks, Barry” I murmured, he slowly released his hold on me.  
“Ready to go back in?” I nodded my head, wiping my cheeks off.  
“Yeah, I think it’s slow dance time anyways,” I mumbled, getting up and turning around to wink at him. I held out my hand for him until his was wrapped around it and we walked back into the gym.  
(A/N - I was listening to ‘Dancing On My Own’ by Calum Scott while writing the next part, so if you want to be extra look it up on YouTube or Spotify)  
Reaching the middle of the gym, I lazily draped my arms around Barry’s shoulders, him placing his hands on my waist. I pressed my head to his chest, listening to his heart, as he swayed as back and forth placing his chin on the top of my head. I closed my eyes as one of his hands left my waist and moved to my hair. The scene was straight out of a sappy teen romance: the broken girl falls for her best friend no matter how much she denies it. Realising this, I looked up into his eyes, then his nose, then lips. Like magic, I closed my eyes and felt another pair of lips touch mine. My heart began to flutter. Everything happened in slow motion. My hands moving to his face, then parting along with my lips, the “Sorry” I whispered. A tear ran down my face as my feet hit the floor on the way out of the gym for the second time that night.  
When I reached the doors I turned around, looking back at the tragedy behind me. A young man standing in a crowd full of people, frozen, with tears falling down his cheeks. And for a moment I felt the same way too. Everything we had always wanted was right there, right about to happen.  
But it didn’t, it never would.

 

Only a week later, graduation was in full swing.  
A school-wide ceremony would be held at the football stadium, then different parties would be held around town. Unfortunately, parties were not an option for me because I had a flight to Seattle the next morning at six, so I had to spend the evening packing.  
Obviously, I didn’t get into Stanford, but I knew I’d do great at Washington State. Only a few hours before the ceremony, I was going over my valedictorian speech. Or at least I was trying to. Something, more like someone, else was holding my thoughts hostage. Barry and I hadn’t spoken since prom.  
Since I told him about my anxiety attacks.  
Since we had danced together.  
Since we kissed each other.  
Since I walked away...  
But I had to stay focused, today was important, and I could figure things out later.  
“You ready sweetheart?” my mom asked, placing her soft hands on my shoulders.  
“Yeah,” I sighed. The ride there was silent. Partially because my mom wasn’t ready for me to move across the country and partially because I was not ready to leave my life there and how it was ending. The stadium was full of people, crying parents, smiling siblings, and students adorned in caps.  
“Now, welcome your valedictorian, Monica Bell.”  
Slowly, I trudged up the steps to the makeshift stage, tapping the mic before I began to speak.  
“Wow, there’s a lot of you here.” I giggled, scanning the crowd. “Um, that was not scripted… Anyways, what makes a good person? Well, a good person cares. They care about themselves. They care about their grades. They care about-”  
Barry locked eyes with mine, a lump in my throat forming.  
“-others. The past four years so many of us have been shaped into good people. And I-I hope you- we all stay that way.”  
Surprisingly loud cheers were coming from the audience, no matter how crappy that was people still pitied me. I ran off stage and took my seat in the front, praying for this to end soon. All I wanted was to jump on that plane and leave.  
The next morning I was standing in the airport with my mom, getting ready to go through security.  
“Please remember to call me when you land,” my mom pleaded, holding my hands in her own.  
“Mom, you know I won’t forget. You’ll probably be getting a call from me every day the next few months.” I chuckled and pulled her into a tight hug.  
“I love you, Monica Lucille,” she whispered.  
“Love you too, Mom,” I murmured leaving her warm embrace and walking towards the security checkpoint. Once I got through those metal detectors my adult life would begin. Purple haired Monica would emerge. Monica with a great boyfriend would be introduced to the world. Monica the successful marine biologist would be brought to life. I had a clean slate and I wasn’t afraid to use it. Once I had boarded the plane I closed my eyes. I’ve never enjoyed the initial takeoff, so I’ve always kept my eyes closed until the plane was a couple hundred feet off the ground.  
As I looked down at the city below me, tears began to form. Not of sadness, but of nostalgia. Running down Crestdale with Barry, watching chick flicks with Iris, ruining the West’s kitchen with cookie icing. Leaving it all was a bittersweet tragedy and I loved it.

Narrator’s POV

Barry was zooming down the streets of Central City in Joe’s patrol car. Sirens blaring, cars making space for him to get through.  
“Come on, come on...” He gritted his teeth as he looked at the clock. Tightening his grip on the wheel, he made a tight turn into the airport parking lot. Not even thinking, he ran through the parking lot and straight to the entrance. He scanned the terminal, trying to find a familiar face in a sea of strangers.  
“Ms. Bell! Ms. Bell!” he shouted jogging up to his so-called second mother. “Where is-? I really need to-! Is she-?” Monica’s mom stared into his eyes with sympathy.  
“I’m sorry, Barry. She just left.”  
Barry let out a chuckle.  
“Very funny, Lucy, very funny.” Lucille Bell, for the first time ever, hated her daughter. Her daughter, who left a perfect chance in a horrid state. She watched as her daughter’s perfect chance fell to the ground, curling his knees into his chest that held his broken heart.


	4. Begin Again

College was like a five-year vacation for me. It really gave me the chance to find out who I really was and start what I thought would soon be the majority of my life.  
But, if there was one thing I could never get off my mind, it was how I had left my life in Central City.  
Of my four years staying in Seattle, I never visited my mom, she only came to visit me. Which, in my defense, makes sense. I had no one to talk to in Central City, but she had friends in Seattle. Anyways, even after getting my purple hair, and a few tattoos here and there, there was still some kind of guilt that was hidden behind my rebellious lifestyle.  
The guilt of leaving Barry Allen in my wake.  
And if I wasn’t such an anxious person, I would have hopped on a plane and fixed things with him as soon as I could. So, for about five years (I took a year off to travel), I continually battled with my conscience on whether or not I should fix my old life.  
Then the coincidence occurred...  
It was another gloomy day in Seattle and I was walking to Pike Place to pick up my morning coffee and muffin. The heels of my black knee-high boots hit the concrete at a rather quick pace, as I rushed over to a small cafe before work. My skirt wasn't helping me walk any faster either, my legs felt like they were slightly bonded together, shortening my strides. I continued walking as fast as I could, clutching my purse as I made my way down the streets. Then my phone began to ring, causing me to stop in my tracks. No one ever called me, at least not this early in the morning. I looked at my phone screen staring at the unknown number, deciding to accept the call after two more rings.  
“Hello?” I asked, nervousness in my tone.  
“Hello, is this Miss Monica Bell?”  
“Um, yes?” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.  
“Miss Bell, this is Dr. Harrison Wells from S.T.A.R. Labs…” I didn’t answer so he continued, “Well, somebody sent me your resume, and I was reading over it yesterday and I’d really like to offer you a position here.”  
“A-at S.T.A.R. Labs?” I dumbly questioned.  
“Yes, I know it’s not your main field of study but we really need a Biologist on the team.”  
“Biologist? For what?”  
“Well, as you may know, the Particle Accelerator will be started in a week and we need some biologist to study any effects it has on the environment. Or anything living for that matter.”  
I bit my lip, the position sounded great, I had always dreamed of working at S.T.A.R. Labs. But, was I really ready to go back to Central City?  
“Ms. Bell? Monica?” Dr. Wells’ voice broke me from my thoughts.  
“Hmm?”  
“Will you accept the position?”  
To hell with it, I thought, I live for taking risks.  
“I will, when do I start?”   
Within three days, I packed up my stuff, left my shared apartment, and moved back to the place I called home for seven years. Stepping out of the airport, a burst of nostalgia coursed through my veins. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the city’s air. I was home, I was where I belonged.  
“Monica!” my mom shouted running towards me, engulfing in a huge hug once she was close enough.  
“Mom.” I smiled back. “So you’re here for good now?”  
“Yes, Mom, I thought we already covered this.”  
“Right. What happened to those lilac locks of yours?”  
I rolled my eyes, “Well, purple hair didn’t seem very appropriate for a job at S.T.A.R. Labs- speaking of which, you still need to explain why exactly you sent in my resume! Anyways, I set up an emergency hair appointment and got it dyed back to a natural color.”  
“Well, it still looks great. Ready to head home?” she asked. I nodded my head, eager to crawl into bed and sleep.   
The next morning I woke up pretty late, seeing that I didn’t start work for another two or three days. So, after straightening my hair and throwing on a black dress, some light makeup, and my glasses, I began my walk to the best coffee shop on this planet. CC Jitters. Walking down the streets of Central City, I couldn’t help but smile. Central City has always had that modern-suburbs feel to it which was oddly comforting. Opening the familiar glass doors, the aroma of coffee beans and steamed milk filled my nostrils. I walked up to the counter, heels clanking loudly on the floor. 

Narrator’s POV

Iris and Barry were sitting in Jitters Wednesday afternoon during Iris’ lunch break. Barry was rambling on and on about the Particle Accelerator that was set to go off in about two days. Iris’ was trying to act interested, but really she was just unconvincingly nodding her heading letting out a “Mhhm” every few sentences.  
“I mean imagine all of the advances in science they could discover. A cure for cancer, new elements, the ability t-” Barry cut himself off, turning his head to face the source of the loud clicking behind him. A tall, blonde woman wearing a black dress and glasses walked into the coffee shop, catching the eyes of every customer and employee.  
“Hi, one bulletproof coffee,” she chirped to the cashier.  
“Is that…” Barry’s words dragged out, so Iris finished his sentence for him. “...Monica?” Barry and Iris looked into each other’s eyes, sharing the pure emotion of shock. The possibly familiar face of Monica Lucille Bell stepped off to the side to wait for her order.  
“What is she doing here, wasn’t she supposed to stay in Seattle?” Iris mumbled to Barry.  
“How do expect me to know? I haven’t talked to her in five years!” Barry shouted back in a hushed tone.  
Iris cocked her head to the side, “I don’t know, it just seems a little fishy that she shows up here the day after you come back from Starling.”  
“Maybe she’s visiting her mom-” Barry suggested.  
“I’m gonna go talk to her.” Iris stood up, pushing in her stool.  
“No, no, no.” Barry breathed trying to get Iris to stop, but miserably failing. “Iris!” he shouted turning red.

Monica’s POV

I snapped my head around hearing a familiar name, my eyes landing on a dark-haired woman.  
“Iris?” I sang, walking up to my childhood friend, engulfing her in a tight hug.  
“Monica, I’ve missed you so much. How’s Seattle?” Iris asked me, as we stepped back to face each other. Unsure of how to approach the matter I just said the first thing that came to mind.  
“Seattle was good.”  
“Was?” Iris pressed on, doing exactly what I was hoping she wouldn’t.  
“Yeah, um, I actually just moved back here yesterday.” Iris’ eyebrows stood up, a toothy grin growing on her face. Suddenly she grabbed my hand, pulling me to a table where a young man was sitting with his face tilted towards the ground.  
“Ba-”  
“Barry?” I whispered when he brought his face up, his eyes meeting mine. What four years did to him is still a mystery to me. I had never expected nerdy, awkward Barry Allen to grow into the twenty-something-year-old sitting in front of me. He waved his hand at me, giving subtle tight lip smile.  
“As I was about to say,” Iris continued, “Barry, Monica’s moving back to Central City!” Barry’s eyebrows rose like Iris’ did minutes before, but not to show excitement.  
“Oh, um, r-really? That’s great…”  
“Yeah, I got a job offer at S.T.A.R. Labs. They need some biologists to do research after the Particle Accelerator goes off.” Barry and Iris raised their eyebrows in unison.  
“You mean the S.T.A.R. Labs?” Iris asked.  
“I wasn’t aware there was another one.” I chuckled and looked down at my phone screen. “Well, I should probably get going, I’m apartment hunting today. It was really nice catching up with you guys.” I gave an unconvincing smile then walked away, shaming myself for not thinking about the fact I’d probably be running into Barry a lot now that I moved back to Central City. You’re an idiot Monica, a real fucking idiot.

After spending two days of apartment hunting, I finally found a decent place to live until I was able to find a better place, like maybe a condo or a townhouse. I spent all of Friday unpacking and preparing for my first day at my new job. Yes, starting a new job on a Saturday is weird, but being offered a job like this, as a young biologist, was weird. So, I’ve just learned that weird is normal.  
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to work under the genius that is Doctor Harrison Wells. And now I was getting that chance of working with him and a small handful of scientists on S.T.A.R. Labs’ newest project, the Particle Accelerator. Unlike most girls my age, I’ve always been a science geek. I guess that’s what made Barry and I such great friends. Our love for science built such a strong bond between us. A bond that was now broken, and since I was back in Central City, I’d probably have to mend it.  
After about an hour of rummaging through cardboard boxes, I finally picked out a ‘First Day of Work’ outfit. 

 

I settled on a button-up corduroy pencil skirt and a striped dark purple turtleneck, convincing myself I’d have more than enough time in the morning to pick out shoes. Boy, was I wrong. Being the so-called ‘Lazy Millennial’ I am, I hit snooze about five times before finally waking up with only forty-five minutes to get to S.T.A.R. Labs.  
Realizing this, I quickly got out of bed, threw on some light makeup and tied my hair into a ponytail. Rushing out of the door, I grabbed a protein bar and my pristine, white Keds and sprinted to my car, almost forgetting to lock the door to my new apartment.   
Somehow I made it to S.T.A.R. Labs at exactly nine o'clock. Pushing open the doors of the lobby, I rushed over to the receptionist.  
“Um, hi, yeah I’m looking for Dr. Wells… I’m Mo-”  
“Ms. Bell.”  
I swivelled around to be met with the source of the somewhat familiar voice.  
“It’s very nice to finally meet you in person.” I walked forward and went to shake his hand.  
“I could say the same for you, Dr. Wells.” I smiled, trying my best to bury the geek inside of me deep into the dark place where it belongs.  
“Well, now that the pleasantries are over with, I’ll take you on a tour and show you to your lab.”  
After walking around S.T.A.R. Labs for about thirty minutes and grabbing some coffee, we finally reached a pretty large room with monitors, three computers, and other equipment deliberately placed.  
“And this is where you’ll be working the next three days until the accelerator starts running. Then you can begin your research in your personal lab. Ah, and these are the three scientists you’ll be working with the majority of your time here,” Dr. Wells said, motioning hand toward a woman and two men staring at a computer screen. The woman nudged the two men causing all three of them to turn around and stare at me.  
“Ms. Bell, meet Doctor Caitlin Snow, Ronnie Raymond, and Cisco Ramon. Guys, this is Monica Bell,” he said turning to face me, “Our new biologist.”  
I smiled reaching out to shake the hand of the man dubbed Ronnie Raymond, then Caitlin Snow, and lastly Cisco Ramon who unexpectedly pulled my hand and embraced me in a tight hug.  
“Sorry, I’m more of a hugger,” he chuckled, finally allowing me to breathe.  
“Me too,” I giggled.  
“Hey, I love your shirt,” I chirped scanning over the hands printed on his blue shirt.  
“And I appreciate your pop culture knowledge.” He grinned.  
“Really, because I prefer her taste in skirts,” Caitlin chimed in.  
“Ditto!” I smiled back.  
“Well, now that we’re all, somewhat, formally introduced, I’ll be taking Ms. Bell to her workspace,” Dr. Wells butted in, turning towards the hallway.  
“It was nice meeting you all, really,” I blurted out, waving goodbye and running towards the direction of Dr. Wells.  
“I just met the Caitlin Snow,” I blurted out laughing in amazement once we were far enough down the hallway. “Whoops, I’m sorry. That was so unprofessional,” I muttered.  
Dr. Wells chuckled. “No, it’s fine. It’s good to be happy sometimes.”  
“I don’t think I can agree with you on that Dr. Wells…” an odd, snobby voice retorted from behind me.  
“Hartley, why would you say that?” Dr. Wells said turning around.  
“Well, happiness keeps us from being productive,” he stated staring at me. “Who is she?”  
“She is Monica Bell our new biologist. Monica this is Hartley Rathaway.”  
I stuck my hand out, “It’s a pleasure to m-”  
“I don’t shake hands with foolish biologists who run around in the forest wearing Keds,” he retaliated, an evil smirk spreading across his face. Suddenly, the lid popped off of my coffee cup that was now completely crushed and laying on the floor in a puddle of steamed milk and espresso. “Oo, be careful Dr. Wells, she’s a feisty one,” he laughed, turning around and leaving.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice that I-”  
“No, it’s fine. That’s just Hartley’s way.”

 

The next two days I spent my time setting up my lab, but if I had any free time, I went to help Caitlin, Cisco, and Ronnie, whom I had grown very close with over the weekend.  
“You two are adorable! Is it too late to get a wedding invite?” I joked as Caitlin and Ronnie longingly stared at each other across their desks.  
“We’ll see if we can squeeze you on the list,” Ronnie chuckled, “But more importantly, how am I going to attach these valves together.”  
“Oh, I can help!” I yelped, running over to his computer.  
“But you’re a-”  
“Biologist? Yeah, I’m very aware of that. But I was the mechanic of the family for my entire childhood so step aside,” I said cracking my knuckles. “Pish’ that’s a simple fix! Just mend it together with some steel and you’ll be good to go. I’ll be right back,” I said backing away.  
“Where are you going?” he asked.  
“To fix your problem.”  
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”  
“I’ll be fine Ron, check out these guns,” I giggled flexing my muscles.  
“Yeah, still going with you,” he said standing up.  
“Woah. This. Is. AWESOME!” I screamed when we walked into the pipeline.  
“You sure you don’t need help with all that metal?” I shook my head at Ronnie’s question. “What, do you work out like twenty-four-seven or something?” I turned to face him, furrowing my eyebrows.  
“How crazy do you think I am? I’m just a naturally strong damsel in distress.”  
“Well, if you’re a damsel in distress, wouldn’t you need some help?”  
“Yes, Ronald, why don’t you just go sit in the corner and watch?”  
The few conversations like that were the reasons why losing Ronnie was so hard. I may not have known him as well as Caitlin or Cisco had, but he was one of those people who’s very easy to approach. He never deserved what happened to him.  
None of us did.

 

Before I knew it, the night of the Particle Accelerator’s - well - accelerating had come, which also meant the next day, S.T.A.R. Labs would become all work and no play. But all I really needed to focus on was that night’s events and what I was going to wear.  
Desperately pushing hangers aside, I searched for the perfect ensemble. I wouldn't be doing too much that night, so I could basically wear anything I wanted. Still, finding something to wear was definitely a challenge... Until-  
“BINGO!” I yelled, pulling out an emerald green dress from my tiny closet. 

Hair and makeup was a breeze, giving me plenty of time to make it to S.T.A.R. Labs before the ceremony. Walking into my kitchen I grabbed my phone, screen glowing from receiving a notification. 

Iris: Barry and I will be at STAR Labs tonight! Hope we can find some time to catch up.

I smiled looking down at the text. I missed Iris. She was always such a sweet, genuine person who at the same time wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion. Twiddling my thumbs, I finally began typing.

Monica: Yay! I can’t wait to see you.

Great job Monica! Mental High Five! I thought to myself while nodding my head. Looking further up the screen I realised that I only had fifteen minutes to get to the ceremony and there was bound to be traffic, so I ran out the door like I had a few days ago. 

 

“My name is Harrison Wells. Tonight, the future begins. The work my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics. Will bring about advancements in power, advancements in medicine, and trust me that future will be here faster than you think.”  
The applause began to come to a halt as Dr. Wells began his speech. After nodding and smiling for a while, I decided to scan the crowd for Iris and maybe Barry. Looking into the sea of people in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel - I don’t know - super. It was like thousands of people were looking up to me, like I had just made their lives a thousand times better. I loved that feeling. In Seattle, I had lost touch of that, and in that moment, I remembered just how much I missed it.  
“...ica, MONICA!”  
I snapped my head around feeling someone nudging at my side.  
“Hey, it’s time to go inside and accelerate this accelerator,” Cisco said beaming.  
“Ok Costco,” I joked walking past him.  
“Hey! You don’t have the right to call me that yet. I don’t even have a nickname for you.” I turned around giving him puppy dog eyes.  
“Awww, poor Crisco.” I giggled.  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”  
I snorted as I walked off the stage, heading towards Dr. Wells to find out where he needed me.  
“Ms. Bell, you can go home now. We’ll be expecting you here early tomorrow morning.”  
I nodded my head vigorously. “Oh, I know. Umm, is it okay if I just stay here for a while? I just got dolled up and I’m really hoping I didn’t do it for nothing.”  
“Whatever you need,” he said walking away. Quickly, I took off my heels and ran to the stairs. Gracefully, I made my way up to one of the many roofs of S.T.A.R. Labs, and as I stared at the glowing city before me, I smiled. I closed my eyes and breathed in the city air, the sound of cars and busses surrounding me.  
“What happened to the Keds? Did little baby Monica play dress up in Mommy’s closet?” I heard a familiar, smug voice taunt from behind me.  
“Hartley, you shouldn’t be here. You quit two days ago. This is private property,” I muttered, furrowing my eyebrows.  
“Well neither should someone like you!” he yelled awkwardly running towards me and pushing me to the ground. “See, I can be feisty too.”  
I stood up, straightening my dress. “What the hell are you doing?”  
“Oh, you know what I’m doing,” he whispered.  
“Actually, I don’t,” I bluntly stated, “So why don't you tell me what’s going on here?!”  
“I’m here to show you what you’re truly capable of,” he muttered. “Kryptonian.”  
I cocked my head to the side, “How the hell am I a cryptogr-?” Before I could finish my question, I felt my toes leave the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs, leaving me quickly falling to my doom.  
As the wind caused my hair to dance around, I looked down at the ground below me. So this is how I die, I thought to myself, a tight lip smile appearing on my face. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, trying to think of any possible way to save myself. I could make my dress into a parachute, oh, or hook my heels onto-  
Everything stopped.  
The wind, the moving buildings, my hair.  
I looked down, I was…  
“Floating?” I murmured allowed in confusion.  
“Not exactly Monica!” I heard Hartley yell from atop the roof, “Try pushing up.”  
At first, I questioned him, but he seemed to know something. So, I pushed my heels up, causing me to move in the opposite direction than I was only a few mere seconds ago. My feet gently landed on the roof, a grin growing on my face.  
“How did you know?” I asked, staring down Hartley.  
“That coffee cup incident and my years of studying alien history. Guess that-”  
“Wait, I’m an-”  
“Alien, maybe. I prefer outsider,” he wickedly laughed. Suddenly, a surge of anger coursed through my veins and I sprinted forward, punching Hartley in the nose and knocked him out.  
“Oh, my, I’m, gotta go…” I stammered running towards the Cortex. “Caitlin! Caitlin!” I yelled running through the halls. “Cait, there you are! You won’t believe what just-” I stopped talking when she turned around to face me. Her flushed cheeks stained with tears. “What, what’s wrong? Where are Ronnie and Cisco?”  
She shook her head at me. “Something went wrong,” she whispered. “Ronnie’s in the Pipeline. Monica, what if he never comes back?!” she sobbed, causing me to jog over to her. I pulled her into a tight hug, unsure of what to say I rocked her back and forth as we waited for something to happen, some glimmer of hope.  
Instead, we were met with a big bang.


	5. Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory. One of mankind's most debated theories. One that I firmly stand by, mainly because I’ve experienced it. A big explosion, creating new life, changing everything. 

Nine months had gone by since the explosion. Month one a familiar face arrived in my lab. Month two I shut myself away from the rest of the world. Month three I tried finding myself again. Month four I failed at month three’s task. Month five I gave up. Month sixth I reentered society. Month seven I buried myself in science. Month eight I made new friends. Month nine, that’s where things got complicated.

“Ok, I’ve got one cappuccino, one vanilla latte, and-” I cocked my head to the side. “Why are you guys listening to Poker Face?” Cisco turned to face me. “It’s Barry’s favorite song.” he exclaimed. “And you know this how?” I asked. “Cisco has been stalking Mr. Allen’s facebook page the past few days.” “You mean Barry?” Cisco retorted. “He’s our patient, he’s Mr.Allen.” “Cait he’s been here for nine months, I think we have the right to call him Barry. Right Monica?” I felt my heart begin to beat quickly, I hated lying to my two new best friends. But if they found out about me knowing Barry, then I’d have to explain all of the gorey details of our relationship. “Umm, yeah. Whatever Costco.” Cisco ignored me as he began humming along to Barry’s favorite song from when he was a senior in High School. You do realize you’re digging yourself down a deeper hole? Right? I thought to myself. “Where am I?” A familiar voice asked from behind me. “Shit.” I whispered, going to hide under the desk in front of me. All I could hear was Caitlin rambling random medical terms as Cisco tried to calm Barry down. “Everything’s okay man. You’re at STAR Labs.” “STAR Labs? Where’s Monica?” He remembered… SHIT he remembered! Right when I peered over the desk Caitlin and Cisco turned to face me, confused looks etching their faces. “Hey, Barry...” I said meekly, giving a small wave. Cisco turned back around. “I’m Cisco Ramon. She’s Doctor Caitlin Snow-” “I need you to urinate in this cup.” Cisco rolled his eyes, “And I see you already know Monica, which really intrigues me…” “Not now Cisco,” I said, slowly making my way towards Barry. “What, what is happening? What is going on?” Barry exclaimed pacing around the med-bay, “Bare, you were struck by lightning…” I whispered. Barry walked towards a monitor and stared at his body. “Wh- Lightning gave me abs?” Caitlin walked towards him. “Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration.” I pushed Caitlin aside and put my hand on Barry’s bare shoulder. “Barry, please sit down.” He shuffled back to the bed, his eyes maintaining their locked gaze on the floor. “You were in a coma.” Cisco explained. “For how long?” Barry asked. “Nine months.” “Welcome back Mister Allen.” Dr.Wells said, wheeling his way into the Cortex. “We have a lot to discuss.”

As I had expected Barry wanted nothing to do with STAR Labs, leaving me in a sticky situation. Cisco and Caitlin turned around to stare at me, expecting looks on their faces.”Look, I know I have a lot to explain but it’s not what you think.” Caitlin gave me a knowing look. “Fine, maybe it is what you think but why would that even matter. I mean-” “Why would what matter?” Dr.Wells inquired. I rolled my eyes, might as well get this over with, “When I was eleven, my mom and I moved here, I met Barry and Iris and became close friends with them. Then, senior year of highschool roles around, and Barry and I got to prom together,” Cisco gave me a smug grin. “As friends, then he um, he-” “He what???” Cisco pushed, “He kissed me, and I ran away, moved to Seattle and never spoke to him. Until the Wednesday before the accident,” I threw my hands up in the air. “I thought I’d never have to see him again, but here we are, or I guess I should say here we have been. It’s like the universe is forcing us together no matter how much I hate it.” “Are you sure you hate it?” Caitlin teased. “Please don’t even start with that. I’m really sorry but I’m going to head to Jitters and take a much needed break.” I whispered, walking out of the Cortex. “But there’s already coffee her-” “I’m very aware of that Cisco.” I yelled storming through the halls. 

After taking sometime for myself that afternoon, I was finally ready to head back to work. Instead of changing back into my work attire I stayed in my sweatshirt and leggings, opting to “walk” back to STAR Labs instead of drive. Okay, so maybe my version of walking was flying, but could you blame me? Nine months ago I found out I was the impossible, how do I not take advantage of that? I made sure to land a block away from STAR Labs, trying my best not to raise any suspicion. “I’m back!” I cheered, walking into the cortex. Suddenly, a young man rotated to face me. “So am I!” He chirped, a smile stretching across his face. “Barry? I thought you said you were okay? Is something wrong?” Barry shrugged his shoulders. “Yes. No. I don’t know but whatever is happening is AWESOME!” he exclaimed. I gave Cisco a concerned look. “We’re heading to Ferris, apparently Barry has superspeed!” he said with a giddy grin. I turned to face Barry, whose face mimicked Cisco’s. “Bare? Are you sure you are okay?” I said placing a hand on his shoulder. “Never better,” he grinned. “Come on, let’s go.”

“You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?” Caitlin asked me walking out of the van. I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t know, it’s Barry and Barry’s usually right so…” Caitlin rolled her eyes at my response as she walked towards Barry to get him set up for his “test run”. “May I ask,” I jumped at the sound of Dr. Wells’ voice. “Doctor Wells, you scared me.” “Sorry, but as I was saying, why did you keep your prior relationship with Barry a secret.” He questioned, looking up at me. I cocked my head to the side, “I don’t really know why,” I sighed. “I guess I just didn’t to become as disruption. I mean he was in a coma for nine months, I wasn’t even sure he’d wake up.” “You care about him a lot, don’t you?” I thought of a response as I stared at Barry getting into a runner’s stance. “You could say that…” Before I knew it Barry Allen was running faster than the speed of light, the Barry Allen who I’d beat in our daily sprints to my front yard. The Barry Allen who was always the last student to finish running the mile in gym class. He was ama- crashing, he was crashing. I couldn’t help but snort, causing the three scientists seated around me to stare in my direction. I mouthed a sorry before I got up and ran in Barry’s direction. “Barry, are you okay?” I whispered as I held out my hand to pull him off the ground. “Yeah, I’m fine. My arm just hurts a little that’s all.” I rolled my eyes, “Well then Bartholomew let’s get you back to STAR Labs and check on that arm.” Barry turned to face me and lightly punched me in the shoulder as we walked towards the van. “You know how much I hate that name…” he muttered. “Well, you don’t know how much I missed it.”

“It looks like you had a distal radius fracture.” Caitlin stated turning to Barry and I. “Had?” we asked in unison. “Okay, you guys are really starting to creep me out.” Cisco chuckled. “Anywho, it’s healed.” Caitlin said pointing at the X-Ray. “In three hours,” Barry stood up from the bed in the middle of the med bay, “How is that even possible?” Caitlin and Cisco shared a look. “We don’t know,” “Yet.” Doctor Wells added wheeling into the cortex. “You really need to learn how to stop.” I giggled. Dr. Wells looked at me, “What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well, and then something caused you to lose focus.” “I started remembering something.” Barry said looking over his shoulder towards me. “Barry, you don’t have to-” I shook my head but was interrupted, “But I should,” he paused taking a deep breath. “When I was 11, my mother was murdered. It was late, a sound woke me up. I came downstairs, and I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed my mom. They arrested my dad. He's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrink, they they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mom was like me?” Barry’s last sentence shocked me and brought me back to reality making me realize that Barry was now sitting next to me on the bed and I was rubbing his back. “Well I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind.” Doctor Wells said scanning the room. 

After Caitlin made sure Barry was okay after his accident, he left saying he had unfinished work at CCPD. This left me, Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells alone in the cortex, eating Big Belly Burger. Cisco and Caitlin were talking about god knows what while I sat in my rolly chair thinking about all that had happen in the span of only a few days. “He’s a keeper Monica.” Cisco said ripping me away from my thoughts. “Hmm?” I asked confused. “Barry.” “Cisco, how many times do we have to go over this? Barry and I are just friends.” Cisco rolled his eyes. “Well that’s not the vibe I’ve been getting the past few days.” “Look, I don’t even think my friendship with Barry is stable right now, so the thought of being in a relationship with him just sounds stupid at this point. I mean I left him, with no explanation. God I was such a bitch.” “I wasn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator explosion, was I?” the man of the hour abruptly asked causing me to shrink into my chair. Everyone paused sharing awkward glances, “We don’t know for sure.” Dr. Wells finally answered. “You said the city was safe. That there was no residual danger.” Barry frantically replied, “But that’s not true, so what really happened that night?” Dr. Wells looked towards me and the two other scientists, “Well… the accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes and then…” An image showed up on the monitors, “It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energies, x-elements-” “Those are all theoretical-” Barry interrupted, “-and how theoretical are you?” Dr. Wells snapped back as he turned his head back to the monitor, “We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City, though we have no way of knowing what or… who was exposed, we’ve been searching for other Metahumans like yourself.” “Metahumans?” Barry asked turning around. “That’s what we’re calling them.” Caitlin bluntly replied. “I saw one today.” Those four words that came out of Barry’s mouth confused and intrigued everyone. “He’s a bank robber, and he can control the weather.” “This just keeps getting cooler.” Cisco said with a big goofy grin that soon disappeared when I slapped his shoulder. “This is not cool. All right, a man died.” Barry said, his tone startling me, “Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. And he’s still out there! We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else. “Barry!” I desperately shouted as he turned to walk away. “That’s a job for the police.” Dr. Wells muttered. “I work for the police.” Barry murmured. “As a forensic assistant.” “You’re responsible for this, for him.” “What’s important is you!” Dr. Wells snapped, “Not me, I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world… genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero!” Dr. Wells mockingly yelled the last part, “You’re not a hero. You are just a young man who was struck by lightning.” Barry’s eyebrows began to furrow as I prepared myself to jump out of my seat and stop the cat fight that was about to occur. But instead Barry just walked away, disappearing into one of the hallways. “That was a little harsh…” I whispered

A few hours later Dr. Wells had already left, but Caitlin, Cisco, and I stayed late to finish up some work. I stood up to go use the restroom when a gust of wind blew my hair around. “Barry? What are you-” “I’ve been going over unsolved cases from the past nine months, and there’s been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing people. Your Metahumans have been busy. Now, I’m not blaming you,” Barry said glancing at me, “I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I know you all lost something.” He said turning to Caitlin, “But I need your help to catch Mardon and anyone else out there like him. But I can’t do it without you.” Cisco, Caitlin, and I all shared the same look as we tried to communicate our thoughts through facial expressions. “If we’re gonna do this, I have something that might help.” Cisco smiled walking out of the cortex, “Something I’ve been playing with.” He turned a metal stand around that housed a crimson suit. “Designed to replace the the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear. I thought if STAR Labs could do something nice for the community, maybe people wouldn’t be so angry a Dr. Wells anymore.” I stepped forward. “How is it going to help Barry?” I asked, pointing a finger at the suit. “It’s made of a reinforced tripolymer, its heat and abrasive resistant, so it should withstand his moving at high velocity speeds. And the aerodynamic design should help him maintain control. Plus it has built in sensors so we can track his vitals and stay in contact with him from here.” he smiled. “Thanks.” Barry whispered. “Now how do we find Mardon. “I retasked STAR Labs satellite to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City.” I said, Barry staring at me with an impressed look on his face. “We just got a ping.” Caitlin said, tablet in hand, “Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I’ve tracked it to a farm just west of the city.” I watched as Barry shuffled towards the suit, a smile growing on my face. 

 

“Barry! Barry, this things getting closer. Wind speeds are 200 miles per hour and increasing.” I said into the coms. “Barry can you hear me?” “Yeah. Loud and clear.” he shouted back. “ If it keeps up, this could become an F-5 tornado.” “But it’s headed towards the city. How do I stop it?” Everyone in the lab was at a loss for words. “Guys?... What if I unravel it?” “How the hell are you going to do that?” Caitlin asked. “I’ll run around it in the opposite direction,” “Cut off it’s legs.” Barry and I said together. “He’d have to clock 700 miles per hour to do that.” Cisco muttered. “Your body may not be able to handle those speeds. You’ll die.” Caitlin spoke into the coms. “I have to try.” Barry shouted. “You don’t have to do this Barry.” I said waiting for a response, “Barry?” Then a gust of wind played through the speakers of the cortex as I turned to Caitlin to give her a concerned expression. “Ha ha, the suit’s holding up.” Cisco celebrated clenching his fist. “But he’s not.” Caitlin retorted. “He can do it,” I whispered, “I know he can do it.” All that was heard was the sound of wind until Barry’s grunts were played on the speakers. “It’s too strong!” he yelled. “You can do this Barry,” Dr. Wells said grabbing ahold of the mic, “You were right, I am responsible all for this so many people have been hurt because of me, and when I looked at you, all I saw was another potential victim of my hubris. Yes, I created this madness. But you, Barry, you can stop it. You can do this.” he spoke, “Now run, Barry, run!” Then the wind started again, as we all waited in anticipation. Then there was a scream and a loud crash. “Barry?” I asked, tears beginning to form in my eyes. All I could hear was mumbling and my heart began to pound, “I’m not like you.” Barry said allowing me to let out a sigh of relief. “You’re a murderer.” My heart clenched at the sound of gunshots. “Barry?!” I screamed. “It’s over.” he whispered. “I’m okay.” A smile cracked on my face, the other three scientists doing the same. 

“I’m pretty sure I had about five heart attacks today.” I chuckled, looking over at Barry as we walked out of STAR Labs. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he apologized scratching the back if his neck. I breathed in the cool city air, looking at all the glowing windows and flashing streetlights. “Hey,” I turned my head to face Barry again, “Thank you. For being willing to help me out. Y-you know after-” “Yeah, no problem,” I said cutting him off. “I know it’s late but, would you like to go grab some coffee?” “As much as I’d really like to I have a feeling I’ll be needed for work early tomorrow morning.” A tight lip smile formed on my face. “Do you, umm, want a ride home?” I gently shook my head, “I’m fine, but thanks.” He nodded his head as I turned away. “Goodnight Monica.” “Goodnight Barry.” I whispered looking over my shoulder as he flashed away. Once he left I looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Then, my feet left the ground and I made my way home. As I looked below me I saw a bolt of lightning moving passed the cars crowded onto the highway. Monica, what have you gotten yourself into.


	6. Ok?...Ok

“Barry?” “Barry!” I yelled causing Cisco to stare at me. “What? Did I miss it?” I let out a sigh of frustration, “You over shot by about six blocks.” “My bad.” I rolled my eyes looking at Cisco who just shrugged his shoulders. “You there yet?” Cisco asked Barry sitting in an office chair and pulling up a map on the monitors. “What are you doing?” Quickly at the sound of Caitlin’s voice I pressed a button shutting down every monitor. “Nothing,” Cisco dumbly replied. “Who were you guys talking to?” “No one.” Caitlin stepped forward. “Are you talking to Barry?” “Who?” I couldn’t help but giggle as I watched the scene before me unfold. Which, of course, cause Caitlin to snap her head around and glare at me. “Barry Allen. Struck by lightning? Was in a coma for nine months? Woke up being able to run faster than the speed of sound? Monica’s childhood best friend? Ring a bell?” she asked raising an eyebrow. “No. Haven’t talked to him.” Cisco mumbled leaning back into his chair. “Guys, there’s fire everywhere!” Barry’s yell loudly played over the speakers. “Shit, we’re screwed.” I whispered. “Guys, are you still there?” “Everybody's out. What else you got for me?” Barry said in a cocky tone. “God, would you just shut up.” I yelled into my mic. “What do yo-” Caitlin cut Barry off, “Barry, it’s Caitlin.” Cisco and I shared awkward glances as we waited for Barry’s response. “Heyyy, Caitlin. How’s your day?” A small smile crept onto my face. “Get back to STAR Labs. Now.” Caitlin sternly said turning to Cisco and I. “On my way.” Barry flashed into the Cortex. “Have you three lost your minds?” Caitlin yelled. “Who do you think you are?” “Well, I’m the eyes and ears and he’s the feet.” Cisco replied. “And, what does that make you Monica?” she asked swiveling around to face me. “Oh me,” I pointed to myself, “I’m the team leader. Just making sure nothing gets out of hand.” “Well you obviously aren’t doing to could at that. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.” she retorted pointing to Barry. “You can’t be running around this city like some supersonic fireman.” “Why not?” Barry asked stepping forward. “This is what we talked about. Me using my speed to do good.” “We talked about you helping us contain other people who might have been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Metahumans. And aside from Clyde Mardon we haven’t found any.” “But Caitlin, people in this city need help.” I said supporting Barry’s case. “And he can help them.” “We can help them.” Cisco corrected. “Will you please say something.” Barry, Cisco, and I all turned around to be met with Dr. Wells wheeling around. “I think what Caitlin is saying, in her own spectacular angry way, is that we are just beginning to understand what your body is capable of. Not to sound like a broken record Mr. Allen… I do caution restraint.” “Dr. Wells, I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today.” “In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things. Know your limits.” Dr. Wells retorted wheeling off. “Don’t expect me to patch you up every time you break something.” Caitlin disclosed to Barry, storming off. “Hey umm, anything happen out there today?” I asked Barry walking to stand in front of him. “The sensors in the suit were kicking back some weird telemetry, like your vitals spiked for a few seconds.” Cisco explained. Barry shook his head, “Never felt better.” Cisco then handed Barry his phone, “Hey Joe, everything all right?” Joe. I haven't seen him in so long, which is kind of weird to think because he’s basically my replacement dad. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I missed Central City so much, here I have family and friends. In Seattle I had nothing. A gust of wind interrupted me from my, what you could call, contemplating. “Where’s he going?” I asked. “Apparently his, ‘day job beckons’” Cisco responded. “Now, when do you think he’ll realize he didn’t take his clothes?” mumbled Dr. Wells. 

“You lied to us! How could you not us you’re experiencing dizzy spells? We’re your doctors.” Caitlin scolded Barry, “God knows what’s going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack.” Barry gave me a confused look, searching for an explanation. “Mini stroke. Probably not.” I told him. “You of all people should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets.” Caitlin said storming off. “Wow… I haven’t seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie.” Cisco said handing a tablet to Dr. Wells. “Ronnie was Caitlin’s fiance? The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?” Barry asked. “Yeah. He is… missed.” Dr. Wells replied staring off into the distance. “Well… let’s figure out why this is happening to you.” I said switching the subject. 

“We’re all set.” Cisco said leaning on a pile of boxes, “A little padding. Just in case.” Cisco walked back into the room where I was sitting with Caitlin and Dr. Wells. “You’re sure about this Cisco?” Barry yelled. “Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about 12 miles per hour. This one, has been Cisco’ed.” Cisco explained, “Trust me. It can handle your speed.” “Okay.” Barry started walking on the treadmill as we all waited in anticipation. “Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal.” Caitlin said staring at her screen. “For Barry.” Dr. Wells added. “Brainwave function within standard limits.” Caitlin continued. Cisco laughed, “I told you the treadmill could take it.” “Guys, look at the glucose levels.” I uttered. “Oh my god, of course.” “Right?” “It was so obvious.” “Glucose levels. Barry!” I shouted, “We think we know why you keep-” Before I could finish my sentence Barry’s body was flung into the stack of boxes. “Passing out.” I whispered. 

Barry let out a groan when he got out of the bed in the med-bay. “I passed out again?” he asked as Caitlin, Cisco, and I helped him up. “Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia.” Caitlin explained. “I’m not eating enough. So an IV bag, and I’m good to go?” Barry asked me. I let out a laugh, “More like 40. Guess you were thirsty.” “We’re gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes.” Caitlin reported. “I’ve done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 850 tacos. Unless we’re talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations.” I shook my head in disbelief at Cisco’s response. “For mexican I recommend Tito’s.” A familiar voice rang through the cortex. “On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city.” I looked up at the source of the voice. “Joe.” I whispered to myself. “Detective West. What brings you to STAR Labs?” Dr. Wells inquired taking the words right out of my mouth. “When I couldn’t find you at your lab,” Joe said pointing at Barry, “I started doing a little research. Turns out there’s been reports of a red streak around the city. Stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings.” “You didn’t tell him we’re working together?” Dr. Wells asked Barry. Barry shook his head, “Joe I can explain.” “You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry. I suggest you get back to it.” Joe scolded. “Mhm,” Joe turned to face Caitlin, “Don’t look at me. I’m on your side.” “Joe, we all want what’s best for Barry.” I interrupted. “Monica, don’t get yourself into this. And besides if you wanted what was best for Barry, you’d tried to talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him going out there risking his life.” “You saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that?” Barry yelled. “Since the accelerator explosion we suspect there may be more like him.” Joe shook his head in disbelief, “And you’re gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast that you’re invincible? You’re not! You’re just a kid. My kid.” Joe finished looking at Dr. Wells. “I’m not your kid, Joe. And you’re not my father.” Barry said shaking his head, “My father’s sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him. And you’re wrong about this. Now I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I’m gonna do it.” “Barry, maybe you should-” “And you can't stop me! So don’t try.” he yelled cutting me off. Joe looked around the room, searching for an answer. “You think you’re so smart. All of you. But you don’t know what you don’t know. And I hope that you’re clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed.” Joe finally responded pointing from Dr. Wells to Barry, hen he walked out of the Cortex. “I don’t remember him being that grumpy.” I observed turning to face Barry. “Yeah, well you haven’t really been here the past five years.” he muttered. “Well I’m sorry. I thought friends were supposed to be supportive of each other!” I yelled, “Or did you think there was something else between us? Because apparently something led you to believe it was fine to kiss me.” Barry stared into my eyes, his jaw clenched. “Monica, I’m-” “Sorry? Yeah Barry I know. Save the apologies for someone else.” I said, aggressively grabbing my jacket off my desk and storming out of the Cortex. 

“Sorry, the abrasions are already rapidly healing.” I could faintly hear Caitlin’s voice from my desk as she cleaned up Barry’s wounds. “Yeah, I got my ass handed to me.” he responded. “No shit Sherlock.” I muttered to myself. “You got blood on my suit,” Cisco exclaimed. “Yeah Barry, you got blood on Cisco’s suit.” I said, standing up from my desk and folding my arms in front of my chest. “I think some of it belongs to him.” Barry retorted, “Another not-so-friendly meta-human.” Suddenly a man’s face popped up on the monitor. “Danton Black.” Dr. Wells sighed, “He’s a Bio-Geneticist specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones.” “Apparently Stagg stole his research and fired him.” Caitlin elaborated. “I saw Black create duplicates from his own body.” Cisco chuckled, “That’s pretty ironic, the guy specializes in cloning and now he can make xeroxes of himself.” “If he was experimenting on himself when he was exposed to the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator explosion-” “-meet Captain Clone.” Cisco smiled as we all stared at him in disbelief, “Don’t worry I’ll come up with something cooler.” Barry started walking out the door, “Where are you going?” Caitlin asked. “Joe was right, I’m in way over my head. Yeah, I’m fast but I’m no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one metahuman, let alone six.” “Barry-” Dr. Wells said before Barry could leave, “I understand. Today was a setback. But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times.” Barry shook his head, “This wasn’t a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells… This was a mistake.” With that Barry was gone, leaving the other three scientists left to stare at me. “You’re looking at me like it’s my fault. It’s not. Ok?” Caitlin shook her head as she went back to work. 

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked when I walked back into the cortex to find Caitlin experimenting with blood and chemicals. “Trying to help Barry. Or I guess The Streak.” she answered. “The Streak?” “That’s what Iris is calling him on he blog.” I rolled my eyes, “Well, Barry said he was done with this. I hate to say it but I think it’s time to-” “BINGO!” Caitlin exclaimed. “Holy shi- what the hel- what’s going on?” A man began to grow out of the petri dish Caitlin threw on the ground. “ Dr. Wells, Cisco, we need you in the Cortex. Now.” Caitlin said into STAR Labs intercom system. “Hey what’s- holy clone!” Cisco yelled when he walked through the doorway. “Monica, call Barry.” Caitlin ordered. “No, I don’t want anything to do with him.” Caitlin snatched my phone. “Sigourney, call Barry Allen.” “Calling Barry Allen.” A monotone voice coming from my phone explained. I began to mouth the word no over and over again until Barry picked up. “Look, I told you I’m through.” Barry’s voice harshly rang through the phones speaker. “I know, but you need to get to STAR Labs… Right now.” I said in a serious voice before hanging up. Barry flashed in. “Barry, it’s okay” Caitlin reassure him. “It is not okay.” Barry exclaimed standing face-to-face with a clone of Black. “Black is here and he’s just… standing there. That’s not him, is it?” “Looks like you solved the case Mr. CSI.” I said in a sarcastic tone. “It’s one of his replicates.” Dr. Wells answered. “How did you get it?” “I grew him.” Caitlin cockily responded, “I isolated a sample of Black’s blood from your suit, to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So, I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating… into that.” Caitlin finished motioning towards the clone. Barry waved his hand in front of its face. “Why isn’t he… it doing anything?” he questioned. Dr. Wells rolled up his sleeves, “We did a brain scan. Involuntary motor functions are active, little else.” “We think it’s acting as a receiver.” Cisco elaborated. “The clones are an empty shell without Black.” Caitlin continued, “Shut down the real Black and you might shut them all down.” “But how do we know which one is the real Danton Black?” said a confused Barry Allen. “I think it’s pretty obvious Bartholomew.” I remarked. Barry rolled his eyes and turned to face me, “Oh really? Care to explain?” I clapped my hands together, “Well just like you and your unexpected naps, Black has limits. The one showing weakness or fatigue, like you when you forget your hourly Big Belly Burger, is the prime. Take him down, you take them all down.” I said a cocky smile plastered across my face. “Just a theory… but one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen.” Dr. Wells said pushing up his glasses. “Plus, I whipped up these high calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up.” Cisco said handing him a bar. Suddenly the clone grunted and began moving away until a loud bang shot through the cortex. I turned to face the source of the bullet, “Any more of them?” Joe asked. “Nope.” Caitlin answered. “Why did it start moving?” Barry yelled turning to face Dr. Wells. “The prime,” he answered. “My guess is, the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle.” “And I know where he was summoned to,” Joe added placing his pistol back in his holster. “Stagg Industries.” Barry stared at Joe, “You should call it in.” “Police can’t fight this. What Black’s become, like Mardon… beyond me. Maybe way beyond them, too. The only person it’s not beyond is you. You gotta do this. I get it. So for once in your life, do what I tell you to do. Go stop him.” Barry gave Joe a small smile before walking up to his suit. 

“-but that doesn’t give you the right to murder.” Barry’s scolding voice could be heard over the Cortex speakers before there was a gunshot. As Barry whoosed around a kept an eye on his vitals, constantly making sure they were steady. What? Just because I hated him at the time doesn't mean I couldn’t have cared about his well being. Suddenly Barry’s screamed was played in the cortex as his heart rate increased. I gripped onto the arm of my office chair as more gunshots and screams were heard in the Cortex. I looked over to Cisco who was staring at his computer screen. “Remember Barry, find the prime.” Caitlin spoke into her mic. “There’s too many of them to fight.” “Barry, you need to isolate the prime,” Dr. Wells instructed. “I can’t. It’s impossible.” Barry panted. “Nothing’s impossible Barry. You taught me that.You can do this.” Joe said trying to inspire Barry. After a few minutes of only the sounds of bodies hitting the floor and running Barry finally let out a chuckle. “Barry? Barry, are you all right?” Joe pressed. “I-i’m fine. I’m fine.” he responded, “It’s done.” Suddenly the sound of glass shattering was played through the cortex, I looked over at Caitlin who was just as confused as me. “Hang on!” Barry yelled, “Don’t.” Suddenly Barry began breathing hysterically.

“Tried to save him,” Barry said over the new broadcast. “Doesn’t sound like he wanted to be saved.” Dr. Wells responded. “Yeah, I know how that feels.” I muttered, causing Barry to turn around and give me a stern look to which I just shrugged my shoulders, “What? I’m just being honest. Some people… when they break… they can’t be put together again.” “Some people heal even stronger.” I let out a chuckle at Barry’s ironic response. “I don’t get what’s so funny about this to you.” Barry said, his tone becoming more harsh. “Barry, can I talk to you? Outside?” He nodded his head and followed me out of the cortex. “Look, I know that the way I left things five years ago was not great,” Barry scoffed at my statement. “But we have to put that behind us. Or at least while we’re here.” Barry took a step closer to me, “Why?” I took a step back, “Because Barry, this is my job and I’m supposed to act professional. I’m sorry for what happened that night but we’re both to blame. Let’s just accept the way life is and go on with our lives. Ok?” I asked cocking my head to the side. “Ok.” Barry whispered.


	7. Mist-ery

“Regular movie scale that was a seven or an eight. Zombie movie scale, it was, like, a four, tops.” Barry exclaimed walking out of the theater.   
“There’s a zombie movie scale?” Iris asked.   
“Of course there is Iris. With Barry there’s also the ‘romance movie scale’, ‘comedy scale’, ‘action movie scale’, the list goes on and on.” I said bumping shoulders with Barry.   
“Did you know that zombies exist in nature?”   
I gasped, “That species of fungi that infects ants.” Barry nodded his head vigorously,   
“Mhm, which causes those ants to attack plants that can release spores,”   
“-which in turn infect new hosts.” Barry and I finished together.   
“We went full nerd again, didn’t we?” I asked looking over at Iris.   
“Yep.” she answered with a grin on her face.   
“Yeah,” Barry muttered looking at the floor.   
“It’s okay though. You two are still the cutest nerds I know.” Iris continued.   
“Wait, does that mean we’re tied or…”   
“Monica you’re obviously in first place,” Barry let out a groan. “Sorry Bare, you just can’t compete with a blonde.”   
I let out a hum as a smile spread across my face. “I missed this.”   
“Me too.”   
“Me three. Anyways,” Iris continued blabbering, “I’m a lot more interested in the amazing as of late.”  
“You mean cause of this “Streak thing?” Barry asked unimpressed.  
“He’s out there. People are talking about him.” Iris pushed.   
“How do you even know he’s a he? Maybe it’s a she” Barry retorted.   
“A female superhero? I like the sounds of that.” I added.   
“It’s a man, okay?” Iris stated.   
“Yep, definitely a man.”   
Barry turned to face me. “And how would you know that?”   
I smiled, “Cause, I’ve seen him before-”   
“Really?!” Iris exclaimed.   
“Mhm.”  
“I knew I was intuitive about this kind of stuff! And besides even if you don’t believe Monica there’s plenty of pictures online.” Iris pulled out her phone, “Here, what do you see?” Iris flipped her phone so that its screen faced Barry and I.  
Suddenly a somewhat familiar face popped up on the screen, according to the contact list on Iris’ phone it was Eddie Thawne. That officer from the news… I thought to myself.  
“I see your boyfriend’s calling.” Barry bluntly stated.   
Iris looked at her phone, “Oh, I should probably get this. I’m crashing at his place tonight he’s supposed to leave a key for me somewhere.” She said accepting the call and walking away.   
“Boyfriend?” I whispered to Barry, “Isn’t he Joe’s partner. How is he okay with this?”   
Barry turned to me with a tight lip smile, “Well, technically Joe doesn’t know, really I shouldn’t know either, and now you do so-” Barry’s rambling was caught off by his own phone ringing. “Hello.”   
I stared at Barry as I tried to listen in on the conversation, apparently along with the ability to fly I also have super-hearing.   
“Code 237 on Waid Blvd.” Cisco’s voice said through the phone.   
“Public indecency?” Barry asked, furrowing his eyebrows.   
“Wait I think I meant 239.” Cisco mumbled.   
I couldn’t help but laugh which caused Barry to stare at me, “Dog leash violation?”   
“Bad man with a gun in a getaway car.” Caitlin explained interrupting Cisco.   
“Go.” I said, raising my eyebrows. Barry flashed off, leaving me to make sure Iris would not find out about his absence. Anxiously I tapped my foot. What if he doesn’t come back before she hangs up. What if she realizes he’s gone. What if she founds out he’s ‘The Streak’! Suddenly a gust of cool air blew my hair around and Barry was by my side.   
“I’ll see you later. Bye.” Iris hung up and turned to face us. “Eddie says Hi.” Barry shoved his hands in his pockets.   
“Nice of him.” Barry replied almost a little too chipper, “You guys wanna go grab a bite? I’m feeling a little famished.” Barry asked.   
“After the mongolian barbecue we had before the movie and the extra large popcorn you had during the movie?” Barry shrugged his shoulders at Iris’ comment.   
“It’s a- um- side effect of being struck by lightning.” I explained to Iris, “Yup, sometimes after going into a lightning induced coma the body feels the need to make up for lost time.”   
“How are you not fat?” Iris exclaimed staring at Barry.   
“I’ve been… jogging.” I snorted at Barry’s statement before all three of us walked away from the theatre. 

“I just don’t understand why you couldn’t have invited us to the movie.” Cisco whined.   
“Well number one, you and Cait aren’t my only friends. And number two, Iris doesn’t really know that Barry’s still coming here. As far as she’s concerned, you two don’t exist in Barry’s life anymore.” Cisco frowned at my response.  
“Woah, way to be gentle with your delivery.” he spat.  
“Aww, sorry Costco.”  
“I hate you.”  
“I know.”  
“Monica?” I turned my head to face Caitlin, “Mind if I use some of your knowledge for… research?”   
I crossed my arms, “Lay it on me.”  
Caitlin giggled, “Barry, what was he like in high school.”  
I rolled my eyes, “You know, whenever you asked for my help I thought you wanted to hear something worthwhile.”  
“This is worthwhile so spill.”  
“Ugh, fine. But you’re not getting anything else out of me. Understood?”  
“Mhm”  
“Well you know that windswept, gelled up, quip-of-a-hairstyle he has now?” Caitlin nodded. “Yeah I have no clue when they came into existence, because the last time I saw him before I left for college he had the worst shaggy hairstyle.” Caitlin cringed. “Exactly.”  
“Anything else?” She pressed.  
“Nope, besides the hair and the speed nothing has changed about Barry. At least that I know of.”  
“Talking ‘bout me?” A voice asked from the entrance of the cortex.  
“Of course, who else would we be talking about.” I teased Barry as I turned to face him.  
“Well good thing you guys aren’t busy cause I really need your help.” he said. 

Barry spent about fifteen minutes explaining the case and everything he knew about the new meta we were about to face.  
“Fascinating, a metahuman that can manipulate poison gas.” Dr. Wells spoke.  
“Is it just poisonous gas, or can he control all aerated substances?” Cisco questioned.  
“And how is he able to formulate the connection?” Caitlin inquired as I looked over at her, “Is it physiological or psychological?”  
When I looked up from my computer I saw Joe give Barry a confused look to which he just shrugged his shoulders.  
“This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances.” Dr. Wells continued. Suddenly, Cisco’s ‘geeky smile’ appeared.  
“You mean connect with gases on a molecular level?” Cisco chuckled.   
“Yes.” Dr. Wells replied excitedly.  
“That’s really cool.” Cisco and Dr. Wells’ exchange seemed to confuse Joe even more.  
“They, or should I say we, get really excited about this stuff. I mean how could you not get excited about science?” I exclaimed.  
“The only thing I’m excited about is putting criminals behind bars.” Joe stated bluntly, “Except Iron Heights isn’t exactly equipped to handle metahumans.”   
“Then I guess it’s fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us.” As usual the room tensed up once Joe and Dr. Wells began going back and forth, passive aggressively arguing with each other.   
“Well, unless we’re planning on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses are gonna have to come up with someplace else to hold them.”  
“A metahuman prison. Sweet.” I rolled my eyes at Cisco’s enthusiasm.  
“Until we figure a way to remove their powers.” I added.  
“There is one place here that might hold them.”  
“You can’t be serious.”  
“I mean we haven’t been down their since the-” Caitlin cut herself off, trying her best to not remember anything, “It’s cordoned off.”  
“Cisco’s right, it could be modified to act as a makeshift prison.” Dr. Wells interrupted.  
“Great, I can't wait to work right above an albatraoz of super-criminals.” Apparently my sarcastic comment was not welcomed by Dr. Wells, he glared at me for a few seconds before Barry spoke.  
“What could?”  
“The Particle Accelerator.” Everyone fell silent. These days using the words particle and accelerator together is basically tabu. I looked over to Caitlin who was staring at the wall in front of her with a blank expression.   
“Caitlin.” I shook her shoulder, “Cait.” Caitlin shook her head and looked towards us.  
“Did you hear me?” Dr. Wells asked, “We’re going down to the accelerator ring.”  
“Actually Dr. Wells,” Barry interrupted, “I could use Caitlin’s help identifying the poison gas.”  
“Okay. Monica will you be heading down with Cisco and I?”  
“N-no, I’m alright. I, um, I actually need some fresh air so I’ll get go-” as I stood up from my chair and turned to walk away, a hand grasped around my wrist.  
“Monica, come with us.” Barry pleaded, but I shook my head.  
“I’m sorry, but I really should get going I have a few errands to run.” I slid my hand out of his and walked out of the cortex, flying off once I reached the parking lot. 

I landed on a street a few blocks away from the Central City Mall, strolling over and stopping in some of the smaller shops on the way there. About thirty minutes later I was standing in a flower shop when a distant voice rang through my ears. “May god have mercy on your soul.” Then there was gasping. Someone’s dying, I have to call Cisco, or Barry- Then it dawned on me, Barry wouldn’t get there on time. And from the sounds of it I was only thirty seconds away. So, I dropped my bags and ran out the store, flying as fast as I could towards the gasping sound. I found myself floating in front of a glass elevator filled with a green gas, inside a woman was slowly falling to the ground. “Come on Monica, think fast, think fast.” I punched the glass creating a decent size hole allowing the gas to escape once the elevator let out a bing, reaching its final destination. I landed on the platform rushing into the elevator once the doors opened, rushing over to the woman who was laying on the floor. I checked for a pulse. Then a gust of air tickled my neck. “Barry, what the hell are you doing here?”  
“I could ask the same about you.” He whispered back while looking around the mall. Then, he flashed off leaving me alone surrounded by security and customers. Security and customers! Damn it Monica! You messed up again! I thought to myself as I tried to find a way out. Carefully I rummaged through the woman’s bag to find a pair of black reading glasses. “Perfect.” I put the glasses on as I stood up and slowly strolled away, whispering to one of the security guards that the women was still alive and needed to be sent to the hospital. Once I was far enough from the mall I let my feet leave the grown and slowly flew home. 

I kicked off my flats once I walked in the door and ran into my bedroom to change clothes. For all I knew somebody would've taken a picture of me, and with the reputation of most superhumans at the moment in Central City if anyone found out that was me I’d be the city’s newest enemy. I slipped on my STAR Labs sweatshirt and a pair of leggings, throwing my hair in a bun while I wiggled my toes into a pair of flip flops. This time I drove to work for the first time in nine months. It was different and kind of nice, but nothing can beat the feeling of cool city air rushing against your face. I parked my car as close as I could to the entrance and strolled over to the cortex.   
“When do you think he’ll wake up?” I heard Cisco ask before I rounded the corner.  
“I don’t know, it could take-” Once I made it to the entrance of the cortex I was met with the sight of Barry sound asleep in the same bed he was stuck in for nine months.  
“What happened to him?” I yelled, looking around at the other scientists in the room.  
“Barry inhaled some of the gas so we could get a sample.” Dr. Wells explained.  
“I had to perform a pulmonary biopsy on him but we couldn’t put him under anesthetics so he-”  
“Passed out. I get it. It’s just hard to see him like that again.” I whispered walking up to Barry, “You know what I mean?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at Caitlin.  
“Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean.” She murmured with a tight lip smile.   
I looked back down at Barry. As much as I hated seeing him like this, he looked so peaceful. Like all the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. Like he wasn’t running around Central City trying to be a superhero. Like he didn’t have a dark past.  
Suddenly his eyes started to flutter open, and he let out a groan.  
“The streak lives.” Cisco said cracking a smile.  
“You’d be dead if your lung cells didn’t regenerate so quickly.” Caitlin spoke in a monotone voice.   
“My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette.” Barry muttered as I let out a giggle.  
“Teen you did live for danger, didn’t he?” I joked as I ruffled Barry’s hair.  
“And apparently you do now.” Barry stared at me with a knowing look.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cisco asked, barging into the conversation.  
“Barry, we can talk about this later.”  
“Well, now that we have the sample, we’ll get to work analyzing it, figure out the makeup of the poison, maybe get a clue as to his human identity.” Dr. Wells said attempting to get us back on task.  
“Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist.” Cisco continued, “The Mist. Okay that’s his name. End of discussion.”  
“Great. Monica,” I turned my head to face Barry, “You and I can talk about that thing.” Barry started to get out of the bed.  
“You should be resting.” Dr. Wells said scolding Barry.  
“I have work to do at the station too.”  
“Don’t worry Dr. Wells,” I gave him a reassuring smile, “I’ll go with him. I know who to call if anything happens.”

Once Barry and I walked out of the back doors of STAR Labs a gust of cool night air hit me, making me shiver.  
“So, how’d you get on a crime scene?” Barry questioned, raising his eyebrows.  
“I saved that lady’s life.” I exclaimed letting out a chuckle.  
“You saved her life? Monica, you were on a crime scene then left without being questioned. Do you know what that makes you?”  
“A hero?”  
“No! No, it makes you a suspect.”  
“Well you always leave crime scenes without being questioned and you’ve earned the title of ‘The Streak’.”  
“That’s because I hide behind a mask! That’s because I have a reputation!”  
“You sir, need to calm the hell down.” I said poking Barry’s chest, “You’re at a fifteen and I need you at like, a seven. Especially if we’re going to talk to Joe.”  
Barry rolled his eyes at me, “Fine, but please, don’t do that again.”  
“Ok, deal.” I said shaking Barry’s hand.  
“Need a lift?” he asked stretching out both of his arms.  
“Why not?” I exclaimed as he scooped me up and flashed us over to the Central City Police Department.

“So, all that hard work paid off, didn’t it?” I asked Barry once he set me down in front of the station.  
“You could say that,” he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, “Come on, I’ll give you a quick tour and then we’ll go talk to Joe.” Barry started walking towards the front doors but I just stood there staring at the tall building in front of me. I was so proud of Barry, ever since his mother’s death Barry has been so passionate about cracking cases. Using his knowledge in the field of science to find clues and piece them together. And now he’s here, getting ready to give me a tour of his office.  
“You coming?” He asked pulling me out of my thoughts.   
“Yeah.” I skipped over to him as he pushed open the front doors. Stepping in I was met with rooms crowded full of desks and employees. Chatter and phones rang throughout the building.  
“Okay, there’s where the calls are received, that’s where cases are filed, interrogation room is right through those doors, Captain Singh’s office is right next to it, and if you head up those stairs, go down the hall, and make a right you’ll find my lab.” Barry chirped pointing rapidly in different directions.  
“You really weren’t kidding when you said a quick tour.” I chuckled.  
“I have to take advantage of my new abilities.”  
“Ha ha. Very funny. Now can we get to work.”  
“Come on.” Barry grabbed my hand, leading me to the set of stairs he was pointing at a few moments ago. 

“Joe. I had him.” Barry bounded into the room where Joe was leaning on a desk reading some sort of a document, “The metahuman, we were wrong. He’s not controlling airborne toxins. He can literally transform himself into poison gas.”   
“That’s new.” Joe said standing up.  
“Isn’t everything new these days.” I pointed out.  
“The target,” Joe continued, nodding his head, “is a judge. We’re going through some of her old cases to see if there’s a connection.”   
“It’s too late,” Barry said shaking his head, “I didn't catch him. I should’ve been faster.”  
“Focus on the job. Don’t think about that right now.”  
“Yeah Barry, and besides the woman’s still alive. I mean she’s in critical condition but maybe you can get some sort of information from her.” I said beginning to side with Joe.  
“You guys don’t want to know what I’m thinking about.” Barry murmured shuffling off towards one of the windows in the office. He placed his hand on the ledge and let out a sigh, “My dad has spent the past 14 years in a 6 by 8 foot cell for a crime he didn’t commit.”  
In that moment I expected Joe to go off on him. To tell him that he needed to face the truth. The truth being that Barry’s mom is dead and his father is to blame. But he didn’t. In fact he did the opposite. He stood there and listened as Barry went on and on about how he couldn’t save his mom but now he has the chance to save his dad.   
“Didn’t I promise you that we would get your dad out of prison together?” Joe’s question tore me out of my thoughts.  
“You two,” I said pointing between the two men, “are getting his dad,” I pointed to Barry, “out of prison without me?” the sentence ended with my right index finger poking my chest. Barry swiftly turned around to face us.  
“I don’t need your help, Monica. Yours either, Joe. I could be in and out of there with him before anyone even sees me.”  
“Doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do, Barry.” I said lowering my hand.  
“Say you break him out of there. Then what? He’s on the run for the rest of his life. And something tells me he’s not as fast as you are.”  
“You don’t know what it’s like there.”  
“You think we don’t understand what you’re feeling? I have been a cop for almost as long as you’ve been alive. And Monica has been your best friend ever since your mom died. So you should know, putting on that suit does not make everyone safe. Every person you save, there’s going to be somebody you can’t.” Joe’s words began to fill my head.   
Barry can’t save everyone. He couldn’t save that woman. But I could. And I did. All the puzzle pieces fell into place, the ones that have been scrambled for the past ten months. I need to save people.  
“Moni-”  
“I am not a human!” I blurted out as Barry tapped my shoulder.  
“Woah, ok, what?”  
“I-I I’m sorry. Did you say something? Where’s Joe?” I started to search the room, trying to distract Barry from thinking about the words that just exploded out of my mouth.  
“He just left… are you okay? Do you need to talk or-”  
“Yup, I’m fine,” I said shaking my heading vigorously, “Never better.” 

The next morning I decided to walk to work, just to “Stop and smell the roses.”. As I strolled into the cortex I was met with Dr. Wells and Cisco both with very confused looks on their faces. I looked up at the monitor they were focused on which showed a molecular model.   
“Why the puzzled looks boys?” I questioned waking them from their haze.   
“Ms. Bell, take a look at that screen for us.” Dr. Wells ordered.  
“Of course sir,” I said taking a step forward to get a closer look, “Is that-” I turned to face Cisco.  
“Yup.”  
“But why would it-”  
“We don’t know.”  
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”  
“They’re in the pipeline.”  
“Call them up here. I think we’re going to need reinforcements.”

“Hey check this out.” Cisco called out to the pair as they entered the cortex, “It’s a 3D molecular model of the gas we retrieved from your lungs.”  
“We have identified the toxin as-”  
“Hydrogen Cyanide?” Barry asked cutting me off.   
“What's interesting is what’s mixed in with the cyanide… a sedative,” Dr. Wells continued the conversation.   
“Of course,” Barry exclaimed, his right hand flying to his forehead, “The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed.”   
“Why?”  
“That sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go to the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide.”  
“CSI, Barry Allen cracks yet another case with the help of his team of cunning scientists.” Everybody stared at me once I finished my narration. “What? I couldn’t help myself.”  
“Okay, cute nerd.” I felt a blush begin to swell onto my cheeks as a cause of Barry’s comment. Cisco let out a chuckle. Dr. Wells had a face that only read disappointment. And Caitlin could care less.   
“There was someone executed. Kyle Nimbus.” Caitlin pulled up his mugshot on the monitor.  
“That’s him.” Barry clarified.   
“He was a hit man for the Darbinyan crime family. They turned on him and testified.” I walked towards Caitlin as she gave us a run down of Nimbus’ history. “Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his trial. She sentenced him to death.”  
“He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed.” I concluded.   
“Records indicate the execution was completed.” Cisco pointed out.   
“That’s why there wasn’t a match. The DNA database only has records of the living.”   
“Right.” Dr. Wells said agreeing with Barry.  
“He said there was one person left on his list. Check the arrest record. Who caught him? That could be his next attack.” Caitlin followed Barry’s request scrolling through the information, then turning to face me when she read the name. I looked up at Barry who was now standing in front of me.  
“Barry… the lead detective… J-Joe West.” Barry stared into my eyes, his flooded with fear, and anger, and disgust. Quickly he scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket, quickly tapping on the screen once it was in his hands. 

“Eddie...Hey, do you know where Joe went? He’s not picking up his cell…. Eddie, it’s really important I speak to him. I need to know where he went…”  
“Barry,” I interrupted as he hung up the phone, “Cait and I reverse engineered an antidote to the toxin. I hope you won’t need it.” I handed the syringe like device to him. And like magic he was gone.  
“Barry I pulled up the specs on Iron Heights, it’s maximum security but I think I can talk you through breakin in there.” I turned to face Cisco.  
“Don’t bother Crisco, he’s been trying to break in there since-”  
“I was 11.”  
After the a few minutes of the sounds of Barry rushing around Central City and Iron Heights his voice was finally heard again, “You’re going somewhere you can’t hurt anyone ever again…”   
“He used the antidote on Joe.” Caitlin whispered.  
“Of course he would. He’s Barry Allen.” I exclaimed, “You need to stay away from him Barry, do not breathe him in.”  
Suddenly the sound of air rushing past Barry’s mic filled the cortex.  
“I’m not sure how that helps me, guys.”  
“You can’t fight him Barry… Just keep him coming at you. That should sap his strength.”  
“Gas is the east stable form of matter,” Dr. Wells explained, “This metahuman will not be able to stay in his mist form for long. His particles will need to reform.”  
Then the wind picked up again, faster than we had ever heard it before. Then Barry let out a grunt, as wheezing could be heard in the background.  
“Barry. Barry.” Dr. Wells attempted to gain Barry’s attention.   
“We win.”

“That’s one save in your book, Allen. The next one goes down in mine.” I joked as Barry walked out of Joe’s hospital room. Barry looked down at me, a smile on his face even though it was obvious he was confused.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“Oh, you’ll see.” I said looking up at him, “But while we wait for an explanation how about Big Belly Burger? On me?”  
“I could go for about twenty of those burgers right now.” He chuckled.   
“Okay then, come on fat ass. I’m driving.”  
“Rude!”  
“But for some reason I’m still your best friend.”  
“I guess that will always be the real mist-ery.”  
I laughed at Barry’s corny pun, in fact I laughed so hard I began to choke. And that’s how life was at the time. So good that at one point the vase would overfill with joy, spilling over, pouring into our throats, causing all of us to choke.


End file.
